How Many Lives Were Lost to COVID-19? A Look Back Nearly 5 Years Later

What's New

Deaths from COVID-19 have slowed significantly but continue adding to a tally of more than 7 million deaths from the virus in the nearly five years since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic.

Why It Matters

The world was transformed by the emergence of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Business as usual ground to a halt when the WHO declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020, about four months after the virus was first detected in Wuhan, China.

Since the pandemic was affirmed, the WHO reports that around 777 million people have been infected by the virus worldwide, giving the illness an overall worldwide mortality rate of a little less than 1 percent—much higher than common ailments like the flu.

A visitor paints a heart on the U.K.'s National COVID Memorial Wall in London on March 3. Over 7 million people have died of COVID-19 worldwide since a pandemic was declared in March 2020. JUSTIN TALLIS/AFP

What To Know

In the United States, at least 103 million COVID-19 cases have been reported since the pandemic began. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that at least 1.21 million people have officially died of the illness in the U.S., although the actual number of deaths could be higher.

While the WHO's worldwide confirmed death toll is 7,077,725 through December 1, the organization estimates that there were a massive 14.9 million "excess deaths" associated with the virus in 2020 and 2021 alone. The figure includes both confirmed COVID-19 deaths and indirect ones caused by "the pandemic's impact on health systems and society."

A meta-analysis of seven COVID-19 studies, published by medical journal Cureus in August 2023, found that people who are unvaccinated are 2.46 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated.

In addition to deaths, COVID-19 has seriously harmed the long-term health of many of those infected, due to complications like "long COVID" and the COVID-associated children's inflammatory syndrome MIS-C.

How Many People Died From COVID-19 in 2020?

By the end of 2020, the CDC counted 385,676 confirmed U.S. deaths caused by the virus. The weekly death rate peaked soon after, with 25,974 people dying of the virus during the first week of 2021.

A total of 463,267 COVID-19 deaths were recorded in 2021, which was the deadliest year for the virus in the U.S. Confirmed deaths have been falling since, plunging from 246,272 in 2022 to 76,042 in 2023.

While new deaths continue to be reported every week, 2024 looks likely to be the least deadly year since the virus emerged, with a total of 44,004 COVID-19 deaths having occurred through December 7.

Who Faces the Highest Risk of Death From COVID-19?

As is the case with most illnesses, older people and those with serious health conditions have always been the most vulnerable to dying from COVID-19. According to the CDC, over 81 percent of COVID-19 deaths have occurred in those age 65 or older.

"The number of deaths among people over age 65 is 97 times higher than among people ages 18-29 years," a page on the CDC website states.

CDC also notes that "your risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases as the number of your underlying medical conditions increases," pointing to risks associated with illnesses including diabetes, chronic lung disease and cancer.

While older people are far more likely to succumb to COVID-19, deaths caused by the virus have also been recorded in all age groups, with the mortality rate consistently increasing with age.

CDC figures show that a little more than 2,000 people under age 18 have died from the virus. In the 18-29 age group, at least 7,234 Americans were killed by the virus, while 20,334 COVID-19 deaths were recorded among those 30-39 years old.

At least 47,242 U.S. deaths were caused by the virus in the 40-49 age group, while fatalities shot up to 208,283 in the 50-64 age group.

What People Are Saying

"As of December 13, 2024, COVID-19 activity is beginning to increase from low levels in some areas of the nation," a CDC spokesperson told Newsweek. "Based on CDC modeled estimates of epidemic growth, we predict COVID-19 illness to increase in the coming weeks, as it usually does in the winter."

What Happens Next

While COVID-19 cases and deaths caused by the virus appear to be declining overall, there is little reason to believe that the virus will not continue to pose a public health concern for years to come.

CDC figures for the week ending December 7 showed the COVID-19 test positivity rate rise to 5.4 percent. It was 4.5 percent the week before and 4 percent two weeks earlier.

The CDC recommends that everyone at least 6 months old get an updated COVID-19 vaccine, which can lessen the severity of illness and reduce but not entirely eliminate the likelihood of becoming sick.