Thread by @nytimes

The U.S. death rate in 2020 was the highest above normal ever recorded in the country — surpassing the 1918 flu pandemic.

A New York Times analysis shows how much 2020 deviated from the norm. nyti.ms/3eoNJ4t

Since the 1918 pandemic, the country’s death rate has fallen steadily. But last year, the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted that trend, in spite of a century of improvements in medicine and public health. nyti.ms/3eoNJ4t

In 2020, a record 3.4 million people died in the U.S. Over the last century, the total number of deaths naturally rose as the population grew. But even with that trend, the sharp uptick last year stands out. nyti.ms/3eoNJ4t

Combined with people who have died in the first few months of this year, Covid-19 has now claimed more than half a million lives in the U.S. The number of Covid deaths is on track to surpass the toll of the 1918 pandemic, which killed an estimated 675,000 nationwide.

About 10% of deaths in the U.S. last year can be directly attributed to Covid. The virus overtook other leading causes of death to become the third biggest killer, after heart disease and cancer.

See more of our analysis here. nyti.ms/3eoNJ4t