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Seventy-four percent of COVID-19 deaths are people over age 65. While it isn’t clear yet why older people seem more affected, it’s already known that other respiratory infections also impact seniors more seriously than younger patients.
Chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease that afflict senior citizens also contribute to the risk of getting and dying from COVID-19. Now, a new study points toward the aging innate immune system, increased vascular inflammation and cytokine storms combined with clotting factors as additional factors.
Most importantly, study authors said, “In the aged, immune responses to vaccination are also often weak or defective whereas autoimmunity increases Therefore, in designing vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, it will be important to consider that older people may not respond as well to vaccines as young people.”
SOURCE: Aging May 29, 2020