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38% of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 are between 20 and 54. [1] Everyone can catch the illness, everyone can wind up in the hospital, and depending on the state of the local hospitals, everyone is in immediate danger.

[1] https://www.msn.com/en-ca/health/medical/close-to-40percent-...




That 38% figure is not relevent in this context, because it does not control for the demographics of the population in general. 45% of admisions are over 65, despite the fact that >65 makes up only 16% of the total population [0].

Further, according the the underlying report, of the 22-44 year olds admitted to the hospital, only 2-4% went to the ICU. The 75–84 bracket had 11%–31% admitance to the ICU.

Of the deaths reported, 80% were over 65, while the other 20% was 20–64.

Yes, this virus can kill anyone, but statiscally speeking, it is far more likely to kill you when you are old. If there is a limited supply of a protective messure, we should prioritize giving it to the far more vulnerable.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Sta...


So you get to decide that risking death for a 70 year old is worse than risking permanent lung damage for a 30 year old?


Agree with your point (that raw % of hospitalizations is misleading), but it's 2-4% of total positive cases, not 2-4% of those admitted to hospital.


>38% of the people hospitalized with COVID-19 are between 20 and 54. [1]

This is odd statistic to give, considering it's not normalized by how many 20-54 year olds are there. So I clicked through to the original study[1] and found a more helpful figure: people between the ages of 20-44 have a hospitalization rate of 14.3%-20.8%, and an ICU admission rate of 2.0%-4.2%.

[1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6912e2.htm?s_cid=mm...


All the more reason to dedicate the slots for the disproportionately-represented older cohort.


Or reorganize to have a central delivery service that goes to all the houses in an area.


...which means 62% are people 55 or older. I'm not sure you're proving your point as well as you think you are.


But not everyone can get grocery delivery, so who should have priority?


you missed the "healthy" part.

obese, diabetic, or cardiovascular condition means you're in a risk group, regardless of age.

pretty sure the relatively high numbers cited in the us are partly a statistical fluke resulting from the way the sample was generated and partly due to higher rates of metabolic disease etc in the us compared to european or asian countries




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