The third wave of the coronavirus with the Omicron variant has brought with it a sharp increase in the incidence of death in older age groups. According to figures from the Ministry of Health, only in the last two weeks, 55% of deaths were adults over 80 years old.
As stated The Mercury, this means that of the 1,676 deaths that have been reported during the last 14 days, in 930 cases the victims were people over 80%. In addition, 77% of this total number of people represents subjects over 70 years of age.
These figures represent what happened in the month of February, which was marked by the new wave of infections that produced more than 40,000 cases a day and the highest number of deaths from Covid-19 since June 2021, where reported 2,632 deaths.
in conversation with The Mercurythe former president of the Chilean Society of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Gerardo Fasce, assured that despite the fact that this group has its complete vaccination schedule, they will always be at risk.
“Although vaccination in older adults has been very high, the number of cases we have had is so significant and the most fragile people are going to be the ones with the highest risk of dying,” he asserted.
“This population today is more fragile than years ago, because they have not had all their medical check-ups; they have mental health problems, nutritional problems, which is why, when they have to face a Covid-19 picture, despite the fact that they are vaccinated, they are also in a state of greater vulnerability,” he concluded.
