NMDOH: COVID-19 identified as third leading cause of death in 2020

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The New Mexico Department of Health has identified COVID-19 as the third leading cause of death for New Mexicans in 2020, outpaced only by deaths attributed to cancer and heart disease.

This finding echoes the national trend announced by the CDC earlier this week, which attributed an overall drop in life expectancy by nearly two years to COVID-19, the largest single-year decline since World War II.

In 2020, there were 2,847 deaths reported in New Mexico where COVID-19 was the leading cause.

Despite the surging omicron variant, death rates associated with COVID-19 are now significantly lower thanks to vaccines. More than 90% of New Mexico adults have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

In New Mexico, nearly 6,200 COVID-19 cases were reported Friday, a new single-day record.