Pandemics tend to have higher occurrence (morbidity) in younger individuals but higher mortality for the elderly. The higher rate of mortality of COVID-19 in elderly individuals has been discussed in many reports. However, this pandemic is a double-edged sword as this comment shows higher morbidity rates in elderly as well. This is shown by comparing the age distribution of cases in China and South Korea to the relative populations. In every case, the relative number of elderly contracting the virus is far higher than the proportion of elderly in the population. This is unlike past pandemics and shows that aging populations are at an even higher risk than the perceived age dependent rates may imply.
Keywords: 2019 pandemic; COVID-19; China; South Korea; age distribution; coronavirus; crude death rates; pandemic.
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