1/ The focus on #COVID19 death rates neglects the fact there are 4x as many people who spend 1-2 weeks in the hospital. True, elderly die at much higher rates, but younger adults hospitalized at high rates. Of 2,741 hospitalized:
- Most (53%) were age<65
- 437 (16%) were age<45 https://twitter.com/AlexBerenson/status/1264784997178839040

2/ When looking at the 990 #COVID19 patients in this cohort who developed critical illness (ICU admission, intubated on life support, death, or discharge to hospice):
- 40% were age <65
- 91 patients were 19 to 44 years old

3/ And for those who think #COVID19 poses no risk to the non-elderly population, spend a few minutes browsing some of the #COVID19 survivor group facebook pages. Ailments and debility persist for weeks. You do not want these things to happen to you:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/COVID19survivorcorps/

4/ So let's not ignore that the "risk" of #COVID19 is not just death. Yes, older adults account for the majority of those who die. Younger adults also get hospitalized, but tend to pull through. Trust me, you rather not test your chances

5/ Finally, thanks to @leorahorwitzmd and colleagues for their excellent study of #COVID19 outcomes in @bmj_latest.

Editorial forthcoming.

fin/

https://www.bmj.com/content/bmj/369/bmj.m1966.full.pdf

cc: @meganranney @darakass @Craig_A_Spencer @jeremyfaust @ashishkjha @LauraBurke20 @ScottHalpernMD @georgeanesi @ScottGottliebMD @DrTomFrieden @ResusOne @ASlavitt @comilla_s