Drowning deaths are increasing for the first time in decades, which officials consider an “urgent” public health problem.
Figures released Tuesday by the CDC found that accidental drowning rates increased nearly 30 percent from 2020 to 2022, the latest data available.
Rates were also higher in racial and ethnic minorities, with deaths highest among American Indians and rising by more than a quarter among black Americans.
The CDC also revealed that more than half of Americans have never received a formal swimming lesson and one in three black adults cannot swim.
The grim report serves as further evidence that pandemic closures are harming vulnerable groups like Black and Hispanic Americans, as researchers blamed pool closures during Covid and a shortage of swimming instructors.
Christopher Gilbert, 26, had to fight for his life after his co-workers pushed him into a lake, even though he couldn’t swim.
Gilbert, a medical student, had been underwater for at least 20 minutes, his mother told Fox8.
The researchers noted that the findings come at a “crucial” time, just before summer, when more Americans will head to their local pool.
They were also released just days after a medical student in Louisiana nearly drowned and had to fight for his life after his co-workers pushed him into a lake, even though he couldn’t swim.
Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s medical director, told reporters at a news conference Tuesday: “It can happen to anyone any time there’s water.”
“Preventive measures, such as basic swimming and water safety skills training, can reduce the risk of drowning. This type of training is essential.”
The data is part of the CDC’s latest vital signs report, which analyzed accidental drowning rates from all sources. These include swimming pools, bathtubs, and open bodies of water such as lakes.
Dr. Houry noted that despite decades of declines, drowning rates increased by 28 percent between 2020 and 2022.
In 2019, there were 4,067 accidental drowning deaths, and every available year after that, there were more than 4,500. The highest total so far was recorded in 2021, with 4,677 deaths.
The CDC team said now is a “crucial” time to release statistics on rising drowning rates as more Americans flock to their public pools.
American Indians and Alaska Natives had the highest rates of drowning, although Dr. Houry said there was no significant increase during the study period.
However, drowning deaths of black Americans, the second highest group, increased by 28 percent.
In 2022, there were a total of 4,509 drowning deaths, and 780 of them were black people.
Additionally, one-third of black Americans reported that they did not know how to swim and two-thirds said they had never received a formal swimming lesson.
Three in four Hispanic adults also said they had never taken swimming lessons.
“It’s concerning that there are increases in rates in some of these groups that have already been unequally affected,” Dr. Houry said.
However, he noted that accidental drowning is most common in children ages one to four, and this is the leading cause of death among this age group.
Dr. Houry and Dr. Tessa Clemens, a health scientist with the CDC’s Division of Injury Prevention, said this increase from 2020 could be due to the closure of public pools during the pandemic, as well as the shortage of swimming instructors.
They also noted that swimming lessons can be expensive and a financial burden for minorities and people who live in rural areas.
Dr. Houry said the CDC is funding programs at the American Red Cross and the YMCA to help reduce the cost of lessons and ensure they are more accessible “because it’s so important to have that equitable access.”
The researchers recommended that young children be exposed to water as early as possible and that swimming lessons should begin between the ages of one and four. Even after those children learn to swim, the team recommended that parents pay close attention to them while they are in the water.
“It’s about lives, not numbers,” Dr. Houry said.
