Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye
Johnny, I Hardly Knew Ye By Brian W. Donnelly, M.D., F.A.B.M. AHN Pediatrics Northland Mortality figures published in a recent issue of JAMA reveal some distressing information. In the USA between 2019 and 2020, the all-cause mortality rate for ages 1 to 19 years increased by 10.7%. It increased by an additional 8.3% between 2020 and 2021. These increases, the largest in decades, reversed the trend of steadily dropping mortality rates. American infants fared better during those time periods and did not suffer an increase in mortality rates. The rise in rates is due mainly to the classification of “injuries.” Injuries include transportation deaths (such as motor vehicle accidents), firearm-related deaths, and poisoning (mostly drug overdoses). The other significant category of death in this age group — one that has been increasing since 2007 — is suicide. Mortality rates had been increasing before the COVID-19 pandemic, but suffered a dramatic push upwa...