Why Older Adults Are More Vulnerable to COVID-19 Even before it began to spread across the world, early data from China suggested that older adults were the most vulnerable to COVID-19.
Of the first 72,314 patients in China, the fatality rate for those between 70-79 was 9.8 percent.
For those over 80, it was 18 percent.
With new data emerging from Italy, the second-most-affected country, it is even more clear just how at-risk older adults are.
According to a March 4 analysis conducted by Italy’s national health institute, 81 was the average age of the 105 patients who, at the time, had died of COVID-19.
There are a few factors as to why older people are more vulnerable.
Older adults tend to have less robust immune systems, making it harder for them to fight off new infections like this coronavirus.
Their systems have less white blood cells, meaning their body's ability to find and fight pathogens is greatly decreased.
Older adults also have a higher prevalence of chronic health conditions, such as cancer or diabetes, making it harder for their bodies to ward off infections.
This is also why people with pre-existing conditions, regardless of their age, are also at a higher risk.
Finally, social factors play a role in the vulnerability of older adults to COVID-19, as many reside in nursing homes or long-term care facilities.
This risk was evident at the Life Care Center in Kirkland, Washington, where the coronavirus quickly spread between 50 residents in the center, killing 23 of them.
