It’s clear that 2021 was the deadliest year in U.S. history, and COVID-19 was the main reason for the spike in deaths, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, April 12, in a news report.

Every major city was affected and the U.S. recorded 3.465 million deaths last year, about 80,000 more than the record set in 2020, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Everyone thought 2020 had already been a record, but COVID-19-related deaths rose from 351,000 in 2020 to 415,000 in 2021, an increase driven by the emergence of new coronavirus variants and the surprisingly high number of Americans who refused to get vaccinated or wear masks, experts said.

All medical indicators are in the bright red as preliminary CDC data also show that the crude rate of cancer-related deaths rose slightly. Rates also continued to rise for diabetes, chronic liver disease and stroke, as well as for drug overdose deaths, according to AP.