Thread by @DrTomFrieden

In New York City, Covid killed more people than any other cause in the pandemic’s first year and caused life expectancy to drop by 4.6 years on average, according to the newly released annual report of NYC vital statistics. Confirmation of a devastating toll. 1/thread

What gets measured can be managed, which is why reports like this are crucial. More than 200 New Yorkers die every day, including >50 people under age 65, a data point I tracked closely as NYC Health Commissioner and focused intently on bringing down. bit.ly/41cFZcm 2/

Every life counts. A moving piece published last week in @nytimes shows vividly the necessity—and challenge—of tracking all births and deaths. 3/ bit.ly/3Gmll1O

In 2020, Covid was the leading cause of premature death, killing people under age 65 at a higher rate than any other cause that year. 4/

Life expectancy plunged citywide, but especially among the Black community, which saw a decrease of 6 yrs. Compare that to a drop of 5.5 yrs for Hispanic people and 3 yrs for White people. The discrepancies speak to underlying health & social inequities that must be addressed. 5/

Overall, Covid was the second leading cause of death in 2020, behind heart disease which decade after decade is the top killer. Drug overdoses have also risen precipitously. 6/

Thanks to public health action, we’ve come a long way since the days when yellow fever, smallpox, cholera, and other diseases were wreaking havoc on NYC’s population. But as this chart shows, Covid was the deadliest health emergency in a century. 7/

Across the U.S., 1.1M people died from Covid by the end of 2022. Had it not been for vaccines and public health action, twice as many would have died. But with more adherence to these lifesaving measures, half of the deaths could have been prevented. 8/ bit.ly/3TpEXqP

We must invest in public health systems to find, stop and prevent health threats. 9/

As we mark #WorldHealthDay and continue to recover from the pandemic, let’s commit to supporting the power of data, measured accurately and acted upon effectively, to save and prolong lives. 10/end