Covid is becoming a disease of the elderly with nine in ten deaths in the US now among people aged 65 and over, according to official data. Although older people have been more vulnerable to Covid throughout the pandemic, fatalities are being further skewed towards the 65s and over, reaching a record 92 per cent of all Covid deaths a fortnight ago.
The Washington Post says that researchers are not clear on what is behind this trend, although uptake of the bivalent vaccine has been low with just a quarter of elderly people being vaccinated. About 100 Americans are dying from Covid every day, well below the peak of nearly 4,000 deaths a day two years ago, but some experts are warning that the next variant could mutate to become deadlier.
In 2020, a group of scientists called for a targeted approach that would see the elderly placed in lockdown but the young able to go about their lives. At the time, that idea was heavily criticised by mainstream scientists including Dr Anthony Fauci and former NIH director Dr Francis Collins.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows there were 808 weekly Covid deaths in the middle of November, of which 744 were among over-65s. Just 15 fatalities — or 1.8 per cent — were recorded in those aged 55 years old and younger. The proportion of deaths among older adults has trended upwards since December last year. At the same time, however, the number of Covid fatalities in the US has trended downwards since this summer. There were about 3,000 a week in July, whereas now there are less than 1,000.
While Covid is yet to really take off this winter, experts are worried about 'tripledemic', with flu and RSV already causing record numbers of hospitalisations for this time of year. CDC data shows there have been 6.2million flu cases and 2,900 fatalities due to this disease since October. For comparison, Covid has accounted for 2.2million confirmed cases and 14,000 deaths in that time. It is likely that the Covid cases are higher, but reduced testing means many are going undiagnosed.
Concerns had been raised over Covid deaths rising among younger people after a Harvard University analysis found the average age of fatalities fell from 78 years in 2020 to 69 years in 2021. But scientists suggested this drop was likely down to more older adults dying earlier in the pandemic.
They also said it may be down to a higher likelihood of getting vaccinated and adhering to Covid restrictions in older groups. CDC data shows that while more than 95 per cent of over-65s got the initial two-dose Covid vaccines, but this rate has fallen to less than a quarter for the new Omicron-specific bivalent jabs.
Covid is expected to be the third leading cause of death this year, with about 150,000 to 175,000 fatalities. For comparison, in the first year of the pandemic it triggered some 500,000 fatalities. Other causes of deaths include cancer and heart disease at 600,000.
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