Almost half of the life years lost to COVID-19 have been from working-age people. (Photo: Shutterstock)
As of Oct. 19, the number of deaths due to COVID-19 topped 220,000, according to the New York Times. The Health Care Cost Institute estimates 1.9 million years of life have been collectively lost to those untimely deaths.
COVID deaths have had a disproportionate impact on older people, and Americans 65 and older account for about 80% of those deaths. In April, years of life lost for that population tracked with the share of total deaths due to COVID-19. However, in June, that share fell to 36% of years lost, HCCI found, before climbing to 51% in August.
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"Policymakers and journalists have concentrated on that demographic, at times portraying COVID-19 as only a serious risk for older adults. However, with a death toll that is both high and continually rising, deaths of those under the age of 65 also merit the attention of anyone concerned about the broad societal impact of COVID-19."
Almost half of the life years lost to COVID-19 have been from working-age people, according to the study. Specifically, working-aged males accounted for a third of all years of life lost between April and August.
"Premature death among working-age adults raises an additional set of policy implications including its impacts on children, families and employers. For example, individuals in their 50s are often at the peak of their earning potential; the loss of income can be disastrous for families, and the loss of productivity can be disastrous for the economy," HCCI reported.
Years lost to premature death is an indicator of the long-term impact of death on individuals and societies.
"Excess death rates provide a measure of the current burden of disease but cannot capture the long-term impact that, say, the death of a 40-year old married person with 3 children will have," according to HCCI. "Years of Life Lost (YLL) is a measure that captures both the immediate tragedy while also providing insight into the longer-term impacts of premature death on families, communities and the economy."
HCCI worked with the Berkeley Research Group to collect age data for people who died of COVID-19, and used the Human Mortality Database to estimate how many more years each person might have lived.
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