COVID-related hospitalizations increase among American seniors

The United States is experiencing an increase in hospitalizations related to COVID-19, and the elderly population accounts for a growing percentage of deaths in the United States.

According to Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitalizations of people infected with COVID-19 have increased by more than 30% in two weeks, with much of this peak affecting the elderly and those with disabilities. existing health problems.

CDC data includes all hospitalizations of people who tested positive for the coronavirus, regardless of the reason they were admitted.

Nursing home leaders are stepping up efforts to get staff and residents reinforced with the new version of the vaccine, which is now federally recommended for people 6 months and older. These nursing homes now face complacency and fatigue from COVID-19.

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The easing of coronavirus restrictions, broader immunity in the general population and mixed messages about the end of the pandemic have eased young adults’ worries about the virus. Nursing homes, however, are still dealing with the impact of COVID-19.

Care home leaders said it had become increasingly difficult to get family consent to vaccinate care home residents. Some residents who can give their own consent refuse injections, while only 23% of nursing home staff are fully boosted.

Staff and visitors are potential ways the virus can enter nursing homes. Many facilities are trying to protect their residents with masks, screening questions, temperature checks and heightened infection control.

Hospitals across the country are seeing an increase in the number of elderly patients with COVID. The rate of daily hospital admissions in the United States for people aged 70 and over with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 fell from 8.8 per 100,000 people on November 15 to 12.1 per 100,000 people on Dec. 6, according to statistics from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospitalizations of people infected with COVID-19 have increased by more than 30% in two weeks, with much of that spike affecting the elderly and those with existing health conditions, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said.
(Reuters/File photo)

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According to Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, hospitalizations of older adults with COVID-19 in New York and California have already exceeded those of the spring and summer omicron waves.

And in addition to an increase in hospitalizations, COVID deaths are also increasing among the elderly.

Care home leaders said it had become increasingly difficult to get family consent to vaccinate care home residents. Some residents who can give their own consent refuse injections.
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)

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Last spring and summer, death rates fell overall as more people gained protection from vaccination and previous infections. However, the share of COVID-19-related deaths among adults aged 85 and over, who make up 2% of the population, has risen to 40%.

Throughout the pandemic, one in five deaths related to COVID-19 involved people in a long-term care facility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.