A Significant Number of COVID-19 Victims Had Never Been Vaccinated, and 90% Were Aged 65 or Older

Seniors can still protect against the disease by getting a jab of the latest COVID-19 vaccine

Dr. Zach Zachariah
4 min readNov 8, 2023
Photo by Afif Ramdhasuma on Unsplash

During this past summer, the United States faced a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations. A new study, published in October, based on data from the COVID-19–Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET), highlighted the following key findings:

  • In the period from January to August 2023, older adults (aged 65 and above) represented nearly 63% of COVID-related hospitalizations.
  • Only 23.5% of older adults hospitalized had up-to-date COVID-19 vaccinations.
  • The admission rates for older adults surged, peaking during the week ending on August 26, reaching a rate 9 times higher than that of adults aged 18–64.
  • The 65 and older age group comprised 61% of ICU admissions and nearly 90% of COVID-19-related deaths.
  • Hospital admissions decreased for most other age groups during the same period.
  • Hospitalized individuals were generally suffering from two or more underlying health conditions, with a fourfold greater risk of dying.

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Dr. Zach Zachariah
Dr. Zach Zachariah

Written by Dr. Zach Zachariah

Ph.D. chemist with an M.B.A. | Enrolled Agent | Writes on science | economy | taxes | public interest topics | American politics | Indian-Americans | COVID-19

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