Aging and the Coronavirus

The immune systems are compromised, as we get older. The coronavirus does not choose whom to infect. However, it is clear that the people who are most affected are those with a median age of 56. These are the cases that require some sort of hospitalization.

About half of the patients falling under this category happen to be men. This is according to the statistics of one hospital situated in Wuhan. There was a case study conducted on 13 patients in Beijing. The infections include a two-year-old and a fifteen year old. It is important to note that many of the individuals who have been infected are the middle aged or young and they are generally quite healthy so to speak.  There are also cases of patients who are over 50.

Adults who have a co-occurring condition have a higher risk of infection and death. The pre-existing conditions can mean things like obesity, cardiovascular disease, or even immune disorders. This makes the adult weaker and more susceptible to illness. The respiratory tract of most kids has not been affected by pollution and smoke and that is why it is stronger.

For adults, their immune systems are already susceptible to different immune responses and this leads to the development of ARDS or acute respiratory syndrome. The complicated immune cell imbalance winds out inflammation within the lungs into an overdrive. This makes the alveoli and air sacs to fill up.  It is possible for the red cells to come into the alveoli to correct oxygen.  When air sacs are flooded, then they do not work and the patient is no longer capable of breathing. It is this reason that around 40 percent of people die every year because of ARDS.