<p>The COVID-19 pandemic pushed total U.S. deaths last year beyond 3.3 million, the nation’s highest-ever annual death toll, the government reported Wednesday.</p>
<p>The coronavirus caused approximately 375,000 deaths, and was the third leading cause of death in 2020, after heart disease and cancer. COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. now top 550,000 since the start of the pandemic.</p>
<p> COVID-19 displaced suicide as one of the top 10 causes of death, according to Wednesday’s report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.</p>
<p>Overall, the year’s death rate was up nearly 16% compared to the previous year.</p>
<p>Death rates overall were highest among Black people and American Indian and Alaska Native people. The COVID-19 death rate was highest among Hispanic people.</p>
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<p>The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Department of Science Education. The AP is solely responsible for all content.</p>
