Life expectancy in the United States has hit the lowest point in decades.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers found life expectancy dropped by nearly a year between 2020 and 2021 and by more than two and a half years overall since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Life expectancy now stands at 76.1 years.

The number is the lowest it has been in the U.S. since 1996, and the biggest two year decline in a century.

The CDC says COVID-19 was the driving factor with deaths from the virus contributing to half of the decline from 2020 to 2021.