Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400
The coffins holding Maria Serrano, 98, and her son Victor, 67, who both died after complications from COVID-19, at Park Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, Feb. 5, 2021. Approximately 75 percent of people who have died of the COVID-19 virus in the U.S. — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. (Isadora Kosofsky/The New York Times)
As the coronavirus pandemic approaches the end of a second year, the United States stands on the cusp of surpassing 800,000 deaths from the virus, and no group has suffered more than older Americans. All along, older people have been known to be more vulnerable, but the scale of loss is only now coming into full view.
Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.
©2019 New York Times News Service