COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The information was released amid a pair of reports in the national public health agency’s MMRW (Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report), which listed COVID-19 behind only heart disease and cancer for the second year.
One of the reports also found that death rates were highest among non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaskan Native and non-Hispanic Black or African American people.
The second report showed that from 2020 to 2021, the differences in COVID-19 death rates decreased among the majority of racial and ethnic groups.
The report also stated that non-Hispanic White people accounted for 60% to 65% of all people who died in the U.S.
The information shows a “need for greater effort to implement effective interventions,” the CDC stated.
“We must work to ensure equal treatment in all communities in proportion to their need for effective interventions that can prevent excess COVID-19 deaths,” the CDC stated in its report.
The news comes one day after Los Angeles County issued an order requiring continued use of masks at airports and on public transit.
“This order supports the CDC’s assessment that, at this time, requiring masking in the transportation quarter remains essential for protecting the public’s health,” Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday.
Nationally however, a federal judge recently overturned a federal mandate that required masks on trains, planes, buses and at travel hubs.
These conflicting orders have led to a strange situation at LAX where travelers are being asked to wear a mask while in the airport but can then remove them once they are on a plane.
