Over the past two decades, influenza & pneumonia has been the 8th leading cause of death in America. From 1999 to 2018, there were 1,153,761 deaths in the United States from influenza and pneumonia – an average of 57,688 deaths each year. The overall death rate from influenza and pneumonia, however, was higher two decades ago than in recent years.
SOURCE: National Vital Statistics System, CDC WONDER. ICD-10-CM J09-J18.