#CDC report confirms elderly, minorities at highest risk for coronavirus

Enlarge Image

Members of the Emergency Medical Team of the FDNY prepare for an ambulance call to Elmhurst Hospital in QUEENS, NY.
Robert Nickelsberg/Getty Images

Older people, people of color and those with pre-existing medical conditions are at the highest risk for the coronavirus, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that confirms what has long been suspected.

The CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, released Monday, offers a comprehensive look at the demographics of COVID-19 patients, though the findings were not exactly surprising.

Between January 22 and May 30, the US saw 1,761,503 cases of the coronavirus and 103,700 deaths, with the CDC examining 1,320,488 laboratory-confirmed cases.

It found coronavirus patients with underlying conditions were six times more likely to be hospitalized and 12 times more likely to die.

The most common underlying conditions were cardiovascular disease (32 percent), diabetes (30 percent) and chronic lung disease (18 percent).

The incidence rate was highest among people aged 80 or older and lowest among kids aged 9 or younger.

Of the 45 percent of US cases that had racial data, 33 percent of patients were Hispanic and 22 percent were black, the report found.

“These findings suggest that persons in these groups, who account for 18%, 13%, and 0.7% of the U.S. population, respectively, are disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the CDC said.

The report also found that overall 14 percent of patients were hospitalized, 2 percent were admitted to an ICU and 5 percent died.