The Journals of Gerontology: Series A
Le Couteur, David G.; Anderson, Rozalyn M.; Newman, Anne B.
Introduction
The case-fatality rate for COVID-19 increases dramatically with age from 3% to 5% between 65 and 74 years, 4% to 11% between 75 and 84 years, and 10% to 27% above 85 years and people aged 65 years and older account for 45% of hospitalizations, 53% of intensive care unit (ICU) admissions, and 80% of deaths (1). The first infections with the coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, were recognized in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and since then, over 80,000 people in China contracted COVID-19, with more than 3,000 deaths (2). The United States has seen an exponential increase in the number of cases with the vast majority of deaths also occurring in people aged 65 years or older. Older people in residential aged care facilities and nursing homes have even greater risk of death given their age and comorbidities, confounded by the lack of capacity for social distancing from staff and other residents.
Keywords
Epidemiology