'Our state literally shrunk': Alabama makes history as deaths outnumber births in 2020

Alabama made history in 2020 when more deaths were recorded than births, The New York Timesreported. Saturday.

At a Friday press conference, state health officer Dr. Scott Harris announced, "Our state literally shrunk in 2020."

Harris said records going back to 1900 show that did not happen during either World War or the 1918 pandemic.

"Nationally, the birthrate declined for the sixth straight year in 2020, and some experts say the pandemic may be accelerating that trend. A study from the University of New Hampshire found that half of the 50 U.S. states had more deaths than births in 2020, compared with only five states with more deaths than births in 2019," The Times reported.

In 2020, Alabama reported 64,714 total deaths and 57,641 births. Among deaths, 7,182 were attributed to coronavirus.

"Alabama has recently averaged about 60 deaths a day, according to a New York Times database, and only 41 percent of the state's eligible population is fully vaccinated," the newspaper reported.

Read the full report.