More than 4500 people died from drowning each year between 2020 and 2022, an increase over the roughly 4100 lives lost in 2019, according to results from a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. Pandemic-related disruptions could have played a role in the uptick, the researchers suggested. Rates of drowning were greatest among typically higher-risk groups, including young children aged 1 to 4 years and adults aged 65 years or older as well as American Indian, Alaska Native, and Black people.
