According to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people 65 and older made up nearly 63 percent of U.S. hospitalizations for COVID-19 in the first eight months of 2023. The rate of hospitalization increased with age, with that age group also representing more than half of the admissions to intensive care units and nearly 90 percent of deaths among those hospitalized due to COVID-19 during that period.
The CDC’s findings indicated a significant increase in hospitalizations compared to the preceding months, where only 46 percent of those hospitalized because of COVID-19 were 65 or older.
The report highlighted that most older individuals hospitalized from January through August of this year had at least one underlying health condition, and the majority had two or more. Common underlying health conditions included diabetes, kidney disorders, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and obesity.
Furthermore, the report noted that over 75 percent of older adults hospitalized with COVID-19 this year had not received the bivalent vaccine. This vaccine, recommended for everyone 5 and older last year, protects against the original coronavirus as well as subsequent variants. Health experts stress the importance of keeping coronavirus vaccinations up to date, as the virus that causes COVID-19 changes frequently.
The risk of contracting COVID-19 has been shown to increase with age, making older individuals more likely to require hospitalization, often in an ICU, and need a ventilator to breathe.
Health experts emphasize that vaccination not only reduces the likelihood of hospitalization, long COVID, and death, but also protects others by limiting the spread of the disease.
This article is part of The Post’s “Big Number” series, which provides a statistical perspective on health issues. For additional information and relevant research, click the hyperlinks within the article.