by Katherine Kahn , Staff Writer, MedPage Today May 15, 2024
Patients hospitalized with COVID-19 were more likely to die than those hospitalized with influenza during the fall and winter of 2023-2024, according to an analysis of Veterans Affairs data. VA study finds 35% higher mortality rate in hospitalized patients.
There were nearly twice as many hospitalizations for COVID-19 compared with the flu for the 2023-2024 season, according to CDC surveillance data. In the study population, over three times the number of people were hospitalized for COVID-19 than for the flu… [end quote]
The study population was Veteran’s Administration so it was biased toward men, who have been more vulnerable to Covid than women since the start of the pandemic. The overall population, of course, is over half female especially at older ages.
This data may be OT since the Macroeconomic impact of Covid is much less in 2024 than it was in 2020 - 2022. Increasingly, Covid is an illness of the elderly, > 65 years old. This is probably because most people in the U.S. have either been infected or vaccinated but elderly people have weaker immune systems.
Most METARs are elderly so we need to take precautions. DH and I will take the flu and Covid vaccinations in October from now on as we have since 2022. Covid is endemic now and there’s no point taking this unnecessary risk.
Wendy