Average age of COVID cases drops in Mass.
The average age of Massachusetts coronavirus patients has dropped by nearly a decade since the start of the year as the vaccine rollout has prioritized older people who are more susceptible to severe disease and death from the virus, doctors told the Herald on Monday.
The patients’ average age has plummeted from 73 years old at the start of January to 64 years old now as the total number of hospitalizations has also dramatically declined across the Bay State.
“My hope is it’s a reflection of how we rolled out with vaccine distribution in nursing homes, and then with seniors 75-plus followed by people 65 and over,” said Asif Merchant, a Massachusetts geriatrician with expertise in long-term care. “That rollout has certainly made an impact, and we’re seeing a decline in the death rate.”
When the average age of coronavirus patients was 73 at the start of the year, there were 2,291 COVID hospitalizations across Massachusetts.
Then the vaccine rollout ramped up and hospitalizations have since plunged along with the age of patients. The average age is now 64, and there are 636 COVID patients statewide.
“The more people we can immunize, we should continue to see an improvement,” Merchant said.
The age drop for patients and declining hospitalizations amid the vax rollout “underscores the power of the vaccine,” said Todd Ellerin, director of infectious diseases at South Shore Health.
“My hope is this type of real world data hopefully convinces those who are vaccine hesitant that the benefits far outweigh the risks,” he added.
“People who are going to end up in the ICU going forward will be mostly unvaccinated folks,” Ellerin said. “It won’t be 100 percent, but it will be mostly unvaccinated folks. I really want people to think about the concept of getting the vaccine versus being on a potential ventilator.”
Early data about vaccinating the older population first shows a significant decline in infections among that older demographic, said Boston University’s Davidson Hamer, citing vax data from Israel.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if it was the same thing here as we’ve vaccinated older groups first,” said Hamer, a BU infectious diseases specialist.
The vaccine rollout has been a major success for Massachusetts nursing homes, as the death rate has nosedived since the vax started getting administered in long-term care facilities.
As the age goes down for virus patients, the death rate should also decrease.
“A lot of the time, those who are younger don’t have as many unxderlying medical problems, so it’s easier for them to recover,” said Simone Wildes, an infectious disease physician at South Shore Health. “Not in all cases, but overall they don’t have as many underlying conditions.”