One out of every 100 older American has died of COVID-19 since the pandemic began as the nation moves toward a gruesome milestone of 800,000 deaths.
At least three-quarters of the nearly 800,000 who have died of COVID have been over 65, according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In New York state, many of those deaths occurred in nursing homes, especially at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Earlier this year, health officials said 15,049 residents of elder care facilities had died of the virus, either in the facility or at a hospital.
But nursing home data doesn’t tell the whole story, nor does a person’s age, though the latter plays a role, medical experts say.
“We know this is the case in many infectious diseases, so we shouldn’t be overly surprised with COVID,” Dr. Michael Phillips, chief epidemiologist at NYU Langone Health, told the Daily News of elder susceptibility. “We need to continue to unpack that data. Is it the comorbidities driving that mortality, not just age alone?”
Comorbidities include cancer, diabetes or heart disease, as well as obesity.
People 65 and older may be more likely to have underlying conditions that make them susceptible, he said. And when you add respiratory illness to that – traditionally something the aged can be more prone to – it increases the burden on the elderly.
CDC figures indicate 18% more older people died in 2020 overall than would have died routinely in a year devoid of pandemic.
“You can say, ‘They would have died anyway’ about any death, because we’re not immortal,” Andrew Noymer, an associate professor of public health at the University of California, Irvine, told The New York Times, which first shined a light on the elder data. “The point is you’re multiplying years of life lost by hundreds of thousands of deaths.’’
Either way, the stark stats drive home the importance of vaccination, Phillips said.
“This just doubly, triply, reminds us of the importance of vaccination and boosting, especially since omicron is coming,” Phillips said. “What we’re finding is that these boosters are really important to help protect your immunity. So first and foremost if someone’s not boosted, now is the time to do it.”
He added that he worries about people of any age with comorbidities. At the same time, he said, people do have to connect, especially around this time of year.
“Make sure we’re not overly isolating folks that are vulnerable that need to connect,” he told The News. “How do we keep people safe?”
Besides getting vaccinated or the booster shot, he suggested masking up with a tight-fitting N95, and evaluating the context of a gathering, especially a large one. For instance, in a crowded indoor space, “they should be thinking carefully” about whether they need to be there at all, Phillips said.
In a statement Nov. 30, the World Health Organization advised those over 60, especially those with comorbidities, “to postpone travel to areas with community transmission.”
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