Curious Cook: Age and Covid-19

The elderly have a much higher mortality rate from Covid-19. Photo: 123rf

Most people would probably be aware that age is a significant factor in Covid-19 mortality rates. Age has the greatest single effect on mortality, exceeding factors such as comorbidities which include diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, etc.

Based on UK stats for April 2020, people between the ages of 40 to 44 succumbed to Covid-19 at a rate of 41.8 per 100,000 people while a person aged between 50 to 54 years has a mortality rate of 148.8 per 100,000 people, a jump of 355% for the additional 10 years in age. Moving the age range to ages 60 to 64, mortality rates rise to 448.3 per 100,000 people, a 301% increase over people 10 years younger.