COVID-19 Across Age Groups in Virginia
Melanie Vinton
November 23, 2020
COVID-19 appears to affect age groups differently. This analysis focuses on the data related to COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths across 9 different age groups in the state of Virginia. We use data from the Virginia Department of Health. The source data was downloaded from the Virginia Department of Health website and is as of November 22, 2020.
Trends in the Number of Cases Across Age Groups
The following chart shows the trends over time in the number of cases for the 9 different age groups in Virginia. It appears that cases are more prevalent in the young and middle aged adults. Note an artifact of the dataset in late April caused a significant drop in cases that were then added back into the dataset a week later. This does not represent an actual drop or rise in cases, but is due to the data collection and recording process.
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A similar analysis of hospitalizations across age groups shows a significant difference in the distribution. In this case we see that hospitalization appears to be more prevalent in older adults.
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When looking at the distribution of deaths, the results are even more stark.
Comparing COVID-19 in Age Groups with Population Distribution
Another way to analyze the impact of COVID-19 across age groups is to consider the distribution of the population across those age groups. This chart shows both the distribution of the population and the distribution of the total number of COVID-19 cases across the age groups. The two distribution seem fairly similar, except for the youngest age groups. The 20-29 age group seems to make up the difference in the fewer cases among those under the age of 20.
The population distribution estimates are from the Census Reporter.
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When the distribution of hospitalizations are compared with the population, the skew towards the older age groups is much more evident.
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Sadly, the proportion of COVID-19 related deaths in Virginia in the elderly age groups far exceeds the proportion of the population those age groups represent.
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Focusing in on Virginians young and old illuminates the imbalance in the impact of COVID-19 across age groups.
| Virginians Age 60+ | Virginians Under 20 | |
|---|---|---|
| Percent of the Population | 22 | 25 |
| Percent of the COVID-19 Cases | 18 | 14 |
| Percent of the COVID-19 Hospitalizations | 55 | 2 |
| Percent of the COVID-19 Deaths | 89 | 0 |
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