Mumbai: COVID-19 is known to have the worst impact on the older adults. However, the 100-year-olds seem to have fared better than the 80- and 90-year-olds. 

In the state, among 1.4 lakh total COVID-19 deaths, only 91 (0.06%) deaths have been reportedin the centenarians. A total of 3, 134 100-year-olds contracted the infection since the start of the pandemic, with the highest number of cases and deaths reported in the second wave.

This has left the doctors confused. Several studies, currently ongoing, point to a combination of genetic, immunological and social factors that may have acted as protective factors for these people. The case fatality rate among people aged above 100 stood at 2.9% in the state. Nonagenarians, on the other hand, have a fatality rate of 7%. Overall, 16,854 90-year-olds have got infected over the past two years, and 710 died.

Among those aged 81-90 years, a total of 1.15 lakh infections occurred and 14,325 deaths were reported, with a fatality rate of 12.4%. The mortality rates of the centenarians are almost similar to the pediatric age groups.

An infectious disease expert and a member of the state COVID task force, Dr Vasant Nagvekar, is of the opinion that absence of comorbidities could be a factor. “The fact that they have lived till that age also points to their ability to have escaped or survived diseases.” Dr Om Srivastava, another member of the state COVID task force, thinks that their immune systems might have a role to play, but a study needs to be conducted to know for sure.

Source: ET Healthworld