Health Canada data | The burden of the epidemic falls on the shoulders of young people

(Ottawa) The high vaccination rates among the elderly and the most contagious variants of COVID-19 are now shifting the brunt of the epidemic in Canada to the young.

My Rapson
The Canadian Press

Far fewer hospitalized elderly people ended up suffering from COVID-19 in April than during the second wave peak in January, according to an analysis of data released by Health Canada.

Among people under the age of 60, the number of hospital and intensive care admissions has increased.

According to federal data, nearly half of the deaths, hospitalizations, and intensive care admissions have occurred in the less than 50-year-old category since February.

Chief Public Health Officer Dr. said^Return Theresa Tamm often warned residents by saying that COVID-19 can also infect younger people.

Because of the arrival of more infectious variants, she said, the young man’s death is less rare than during the first wave, in the spring of 2020.

High vaccination rates among the elderly and the more contagious variants of COVID-19 are shifting the brunt of the pandemic in Canada to the young.

An analysis of data released online by Health Canada indicates that far fewer elderly people ended up in hospital with COVID-19 in April compared to the peak of the second wave in January.

But among people under the age of 60, the number of hospital and intensive care admissions has increased.

Head of Public Health, Dr.^s Theresa Tam said since the start of the pandemic that COVID-19 is more dangerous for the elderly, but it can affect young people as well and it is.

Now that the COVID-19 variants spread more easily, more people are being infected and the serious consequences that remain rare are occurring more often.

Several tragic cases have been reported over the past week, including the tragic death of 13-year-old Emily Vegas in Brampton, Ont.

British Columbia last week recorded the first death of a patient in his twenties. Last week, the province also announced the death of a child under the age of two with pre-existing health complications due to the virus.

In Quebec, since the start of the year, a person between the ages of 10 and 19 has died of COVID-19, as well as eighty and ten in their 30s, according to data from the Institut de la santé public du Québec. In 2020, the Coronavirus causes the death of an eighty-eight-year-old boy in his 30s.

Across the country, as of April 23, eight people 19 years of age or younger have died of COVID-19, half of them since February. More than 40% of deaths occurred in the 20-29, 30-39 and 40-49 age groups in the last three months.

Intensive care units across the country are currently treating more than 1,400 patients. As of January, this number is around 900.

Dr. says.^Return Tam.

She points out that “this is currently affecting the capacity of intensive care units in a number of governorates.”

But the vaccination campaign has worked well for people over the age of 70. More than 80% of people in this age group have been vaccinated and its effects are already showing.

Consequently, from March 26 to April 23, the number of deaths recorded for people aged 70 and over decreased by more than 77% while the number of hospitalizations decreased by 44%. There are also reports that the number of admissions into the ICU has decreased by 15%.

While deaths in the 50 to 70 age group have also decreased – around 38% – hospitalizations have increased by nearly a quarter.

Hospitals are also seeing a sharp increase for those in their forties (65%) and for those in their 30s and 20s (40%).