Funviralpark
CNN
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Linda Stewart got worried a few weeks ago when she felt a tickle in her throat.
She is a 76-year-old woman who is fully aware of the risks posed to her and her husband’s health by Covid-19, the flu and other colds sweeping the United States during a severe season of respiratory viruses. rice field.
“I don’t want to risk my health,” she said.
Throughout the pandemic, the positive Covid-19 tests of older people carry a tremendous amount of weight.
Only about 13% of all reported cases in the United States are in people over the age of 65, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, about half of all hospitalizations and her three-quarters of all deaths occur in this age group.
Covid-19 hospitalization rates among older adults have fluctuated in line with general trends, reaching record highs during the Omicron surge last winter and dropping significantly over the summer. Hospitalization rates are consistently higher in the population aged 65 and over when compared to age groups.
This winter, Covid-19 trends are on the rise again nationwide. So far, the increase appears to be relatively modest – hospitalizations are up in most states, but overall rates are a fraction of what they were during other spikes.
But for older people the situation is much more serious. Hospitalizations for the elderly are approaching the peak of the delta surge and increasing rapidly.
And the age gap is wider than ever. Since October, her Covid-19 hospitalization rate among seniors has been at least four times higher than average.
Even during the first winter surge of 2020, when Covid-19 devastated nursing homes, it wasn’t more than three times as likely.
Dr. Eric Topol, a physician and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, calls the ongoing rise the “senile wave.”
“Now there seems to be an immune barrier built against the Omicron family between vaccinations and previous infections, and combinations thereof, that keeps young people doing pretty well. ‘s immune system is not as strong,” Topol said.
Immunocompromised young adults are also likely to be experiencing the disproportionate effects of the latest wave, he said, but there aren’t enough data to understand trends in that population.
New mutants with high immune evasion and relatively low utilization of treatments like paxlovid may be playing a role in the increased hospitalization rates among the elderly, Topol said.
But “the main cause is lack of boosters,” he said, and rates are “woefully inadequate.” If you have it, its effect will be minimal.”
Stewart said she has eased back on personal mitigation measures, but is still keeping a close eye on the developments of the novel coronavirus. It works for her, she says, but what really helps her feel the safest is getting vaccinated.
“I’m paying attention to the fact that it’s recovering, so I’m a little more careful than I was, say, six weeks ago,” she said. I haven’t gone back, but maybe I’ve become more aware of who’s around me and wear a mask a little more than I used to.”
A home test was negative for Covid-19, which was confirmed by another test at a health care provider’s drive-thru, which gave some relief. She was relieved when she knew what had happened.
“That was the whole idea of being aggressive about all these vaccines. There was a good chance she wouldn’t go to the hospital in the end,” she said. “So it really gave me a sense of security in a way. Even if I did get it, it wouldn’t be so bad.”
But most seniors aren’t as well protected as Stewart.
According to CDC data, about a third of people over the age of 65 have received the latest booster, a very low number for public health experts.
Dr. Preeti Malani, Michigan Health College physician specializing in infectious diseases and geriatrics, said:
“There are quite a few people who actually got the previous booster but didn’t get this one, so I’m afraid there will be confusion and misinformation. To all, I say: If you are not boosted, be boosted.”
A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation found that 60% of seniors are worried about an increase in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations this winter, a much higher percentage than average.
Over 40% were worried they were going to get seriously ill themselves, but about the same number said they weren’t planning on getting the updated boosters anytime soon. Nearly a quarter of respondents say they either have no plans to acquire one, or only plan to acquire one when necessary.
Vaccines, including the latest boosters, continue to prove effective in preventing serious illness. However, while booster intake is lower among older adults, it is much higher than other age groups. CDC data shows that less than 10% of adults and less than 5% of children under the age of 50 consume the latest booster. is getting
Yet experts say vaccination coverage alone is not enough to explain the widening gap in hospitalization rates.
“The truth is, really, anyone can get this,” Marani said. more likely.”
Infectious diseases like Covid-19 do not spread differently between older and younger people, experts say. Instead, family members, friends, and the wider community often bring her Covid-19 to older people, who are more likely to have more serious consequences.
“The elderly are the most at risk, but we bring it to them,” Marani said. That’s why grandchildren who go to school or daycare can also get infected.”
Many older people live in multi-family housing, like nursing homes, which also has its own risks, she said.
However, while older people may have more serious consequences, they are still not the main driver of population growth.
A government watchdog report issued earlier this month found that outbreaks in nursing homes were “strongly associated with community spread.”
And nursing homes are still particularly vulnerable this winter. The number of weekly cases in the population has already surpassed all previous surges, except for the first winter wave and the Omicron wave, and continues to rise. But only 47% of his residents and 22% of his staff keep vaccines “up to date,” according to US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services data.
“We all would have hoped there would be a vaccine that would prevent infection. There is no vaccine that will do that, but it will reduce transmission and reduce serious consequences,” said the office of the State and Territorial Council of Epidemiologists. Director Janet Hamilton said.
For that reason alone, seniors who interact with other seniors should be vaccinated to minimize serious consequences, she said.
“But the reality is that individuals who come in contact with high-risk groups should be the primary focus for getting vaccinated,” she said.
Stewart will be welcoming his family back for Christmas this year for the first time since the pandemic began.
“We’re careful about who we interact with. There’s no undue risk that we felt at family gatherings. It’s like our safe group,” she said.
She and her husband also get together with a small group of friends they trust to be vaccinated and equally cautious, but a baseball game is one of their favorite pastimes, but they still don’t. I plan to stay away from
“We love going to baseball games. We are true fans and very supportive of our team, but there are a lot of risks involved. We’re riding very closely with a lot of other people on that ride, and when we go to the ballpark, we’re also very close to a lot of unknown people,” she said. “Still too risky.”
Marani, an infectious disease expert, said she recently spoke with a friend who appeared to be asking permission to get together with her family this holiday season. but was worried about letting her guard down amidst the rough respiratory virus season.
“The virus is dangerous, but so is isolation, so it’s important to find a balance,” she said. “There’s always a way forward. Right now, it’s through vaccination.”
