Senior hospitalizations plunge
The number of Florida seniors entering the hospital for COVID dropped sharply over the past month, an indication that the vaccination campaign begun in December has been effective in protecting the group most vulnerable to the disease.
Hospitals have registered a 46% drop in admissions for COVID patients aged 70 or over since mid-February, an encouraging sign in the fight against the pandemic. And since COVID deaths are typically preceded by hospitalizations, the drop is an indication that the death rate may continue to fall.
Warning signs remain. The hospitalization rate for younger people has begun creeping upward, paralleling a drop in the age of the average person
age of the average person with COVID. And while most Florida seniors have been vaccinated, many have not, and they remain vulnerable to a disease that appears to be spreading as more people venture out to restaurants, clubs and social gatherings.
“Vaccinations are doing what they are supposed to — protecting the elderly from severe enough illness that requires hospitalization,” said Jason Salemi, an epidemiologist at the University of South Florida in Tampa, in an email. “The problem is that there are still 1 million seniors in the state who are not vaccinated with any dose, and another 700,000 who are not fully vaccinated. We know the previous surges in cases eventually ‘found’ those who are vulnerable.”
Older people, who have weaker immune systems and are more likely to suffer from other medical conditions, have always been the age group most vulnerable to serious illness from COVID. Floridians aged 65 and up account for 82% of the state’s 35,000 deaths from the disease.
From the start, Gov. Ron DeSantis prioritized protecting seniors, and early in the vaccination effort he disregarded federal guidelines and announced he would make the shots available to all state residents aged 65 and up.
On Friday, at a news conference in Lakeland, he pointed to the success of that effort.
“We’ve now done close to 3.75 million seniors that have gotten at least one shot, and the overwhelming majority of that are fully vaccinated,” he said. “And I think that’s one of the reasons why you see hospital admissions for seniors are less than what they were three or four months ago. So I do think it’s had a positive effect.”
During the week of April 5 to 11, a total of 1,003 people aged 70 and up were admitted to Florida hospitals for COVID, according to White House community profile reports. That’s down from 1,842 admitted Feb. 16-22, a 46% decrease.
But during that same period, the White House report shows, the number of people aged 59 or younger entering hospitals for COVID rose from 1,744 to 1,831, an increase of about 5%.
Several South Florida hospitals report declines in COVID caseloads among the elderly amid increases for younger people.
“Boca Raton Regional Hospital has experienced a decrease in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 over the age of 65, while those aged 20-59 have increased,” spokesman Michael Maucker said. “The shift is a result of our elderly population receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and strongly urge other eligible members of the community to do the same.”
At Broward Health’s four hospitals, the typical COVID patient is no longer an elder person. The average age is now in the mid-40s, which spokeswoman Jennifer Smith said is “younger than we’ve previously experienced.”
But Dr. Thomas Macaluso, chief medical officer of Memorial Healthcare System, said that while he had hoped to see fewer seniors coming to his five hospitals with COVID, that hasn’t happened yet.
“There’s still a lot of COVID out there. We need to see a decrease in positivity in South Florida along with an increase in the number vaccinated, and we haven’t gotten to the tipping point yet.”
Macaluso said his COVID beds are filled with people of all ages.
With the majority of Florida’s seniors vaccinated, he doesn’t expect the current rise in cases to lead to another overall spike in hospitalizations — or deaths. However, as cases rise, he is preparing for his COVID floors to get busier and may open an ICU unit Memorial had closed to COVID patients.
“We are planning for this current wave to continue for a little bit,” Macaluso said. “We are seeing people changing their behaviors and not conducting themselves in a way consistent with there being a surge in South Florida. We anticipate some of those cases will convert to hospitalizations.”
Since Florida’s winter wave peaked in early January, hospitals have admitted fewer COVID19 patients each week. But the downward trend in admissions has begun to slowly tick up as new cases have risen. The success of Florida’s senior population in avoiding the hospital comes as younger age groups now are eligible for the vaccine in the state, but are more resistant to getting their shots. Their hesitancy also affects the unvaccinated older Floridians.
Edwin Michael, a University of South Florida epidemiologist, said the COVID vaccine has done its job in protecting seniors but won’t continue unless more young people get shots.
“COVID in Florida has always been spread by young people,” he said. “Vaccinating the seniors has made a difference in safeguarding the hospitals and saving people from death but it’s not going to end the pandemic.”