COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates Among Senior Citizens Drop By 70%, Suggesting The Vaccine Is Working

Since the start of the year, the COVID-19 hospitalization rates and deaths among senior citizens have plunged.

According to the Associated Press, hospitalizations have dropped by 70%, suggesting the vaccine campaign is working.

The drastic plunge is encouraging to know, considering the fact that the older population has accounted for about 8 out of 10 deaths since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. The toll among the cohort is around 570,000.

Deaths related to the virus among all age groups have dropped to about 700 per day on average. A stark difference from the 3,400 peaks we saw in the middle of January.

“What you’re seeing there is exactly what we hoped and wanted to see: As really high rates of vaccinations happen, hospitalizations and death rates come down,” said Jodie Guest, a public health researcher at Emory University.

The drop in virus diagnoses and deaths shows the country’s strategy of putting elders at the forefront of vaccination was a winning move.

The same thing is happening in other countries like Israel and Britain; places that have also have high vaccination rates. Countries like India and Brazil have worsening cases since they lack in dispensing vaccination shots.

Two-thirds of the U.S. senior citizens have been fully vaccinated, the AP reported, and one-third of all other adults.

However, it seems to be that the demand for vaccinations in the country is declining. Despite the fact that shots are open to all adults, mid-April administrators saw a fall from 3.2 million to 2.9 million.

“My concern is whether the vaccine uptake will be as strong in these younger age groups,” Guest said. “If it’s not, we will not see the positive impact for vaccines in these younger age groups that we’ve seen in our older population.”