What are the consequences of the pandemic on people’s life expectancy?

To answer this question, scientist Jonas Schule, 35, of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock examined data from 29 countries.

The result: the loss of life was particularly severe in Eastern Europe. In the period from 2019 to 2021, life expectancy in Bulgaria decreased by 43 months, in Poland by about 27 months. Germany fell relatively slightly in less than 5.7 months. Scandinavia came out from scratch.

Schöley told BILD am SONNTAG: “In most countries, the losses are due to increased deaths from Covid.”

It is difficult for indirect effects, such as those caused by delayed investigations, to play a role in a short period of time. On the other hand, it is easy to see that countries with higher vaccination rates will suffer fewer lifelong losses in 2021.

In current data from the Federal Institute for Population Research, federal states with low vaccination rates such as Thuringia or Saxony show high losses in life expectancy of more than one year.

Here is the data for all 29 countries:

This article is from BILD am SONNTAG. The entire edition e-paper is available over here.