Average life expectancy in Australia falls due to Covid deaths

For the first time in almost 80 years, Australians’ average life expectancy will fall, as 40 Covid deaths a day cut a swath through the elderly population.

Life expectancy in Australia is set to go backwards for the first time since World War II, as a result of Covid.

The life expectancy for Australia in 2021 was 83.64 years and has grown year on year for decades, but Covid is cutting such a swath through the elderly that life expectancy is set to follow the trend in Europe and drop over coming years.

Epidemiologist and statistician Professor Adrian Esterman has called for the widespread reintroduction of mask wearing, because an average of 40 Australians are dying each day of Covid, most aged over 60.

“It is probably the biggest drop in life expectancy since World War II,” Prof Esterman said.

“It is more males than ­females, and all the gains we have made in recent years have been wiped out — and that is purely because of Covid.”

Last year, the average life expectancy for an Australian woman was 85.3 years, and for an Australian man was 81.2 years. Picture: iStock

Professor Esterman said ­infection rates could be cut with more mask wearing.

“It would greatly reduce transmission and bring those case numbers down, not only would it reduce deaths, it would reduce the numbers of people with long Covid,” he said.

Life expectancy in 1948 was just 66. Last September, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that life expectancy in Australia had risen to its highest point, with a baby boy ­expected to live to 81.2 years and a girl to 85.3 years.

But new statistics released last month show Covid contributed to higher mortality rates in the first two months of 2022, with more than 5000 extra deaths reported, a statistically significant 20 per cent.

“(Covid) has really had a major impact,” Professor Esterman said.

Of the 8856 deaths to June 2, 7383 were of those over the age of 60.

Professor Adrian Esterman believes people have stopped caring about the Covid death toll.

“What does the government do? Nothing. What does it care about? Nothing. The only ones that care are the grieving families,” Prof Esterman said. “Australia-wide there are on average 40 deaths a day, and we have to ask is that acceptable, and I don’t think it is.”

At current death rates, 14,560 could lose their lives to Covid in 2022, seven times higher than the worst flu ­seasons.

Associate Principal Research Fellow at Burnet Institute Professor Mike Toole likened the current death rate to a Granville train disaster every two days.

“Eighty four people died in the Granville rail disaster,” Prof Tooles said.

“People have attacked that analogy, saying there were younger people on that train, whereas now with Covid, most (deaths) are over 60.

“Both my parents lived to 96, but if they had died of Covid at 80, people would have said ‘80, that’s old’, but they had another 16 mostly healthy years, so there is a touch of eugenics in this.”

An Oxford University study recently published in the International Journal of Epidemiology found life expectancy declined from 2019 to 2020 in 27 out of 29 countries due to Covid. Reductions of more than a year were documented in 11 countries for males and eight for females.

“Reductions were mostly attributable to increased mortality above age 60 years and to official Covid-19 deaths,” the researchers said.

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