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The risk of death due to COVID-19 has declined so much that life expectancy in the U.S. is once again on the rise.

The predicted lifespan rose to 77.5 years in 2022, adding just over an entire year to the life expectancy for babies born in 2022 compared to 2021. The improvement corresponds to a 9% decrease in the nation’s death rate and was primarily driven by a 55% decrease in year-over-year deaths attributed to COVID, according to final data published this week.

The rebound in life expectancy still has not caught up to pre-pandemic highs. The 2022 life expectancy of 77.5 years is equivalent to life expectancy in the year 2004.

While heart disease and cancer remained the top two causes of death in the nation in 2022, COVID dropped to fourth place. COVID was an underlying cause in the death of 186,552 people in 2022, down from 416,893 in 2021. Unintentional injuries moved into the third place position for leading causes of death. Head over to WebMD to read the full story.