As of the week ending October 1, 2022, the United States has lost nearly 1.1 million lives to COVID-19, of which about 790,000 are people ages 65 and older. People 65 and older account for 16% of the total US population but 75% of all COVID deaths to date. Vaccinations, boosters, and treatments have led to a substantial decline in severe disease, hospitalizations, and deaths from COVID-19, but with booster uptake lagging, deaths for older adults rose again during the summer of 2022.
From April to July 2022, the number of deaths due to COVID increased for all ages but rose at a faster rate for older than younger adults and stayed high through August 2022, with deaths due to COVID topping 11,000 in both July and August among people 65 and older. While COVID deaths began to drop again in September, they were still higher for those ages 65 and older than in April or May; for those younger than 65, deaths dropped below their April levels.
The rise in deaths is primarily a function of increasing cases due to the more transmissible Omicron variant. Other factors include relatively low booster uptake, compared to primary vaccination, and waning vaccine immunity, underscoring the importance of staying up to date on vaccination. On September 1st, CDC recommended a new, updated booster for all those ages 12 and older, but particularly for those who are older.
Vaccination rates among people 65 and older were high for the primary vaccination series (92.4%), but were lower for the first booster (71.1%, among those who received a primary series) and even lower for the second booster dose (43.8%, among those who received a first booster), according to the CDC. Similar trends can be seen in nursing facilities, which are primarily comprised of people 65 and older. Further, CDC data show that, among people 50 and older, those who have received both a primary vaccination series and booster shots have a lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than their non-vaccinated counterparts. Though the uptake in boosters among people 65 and older has been much higher than among people under 65 and they are more likely to say they will get the new booster as soon as possible, booster uptake still remains relatively low compared to primary vaccination among older adults. This, combined with the rise in deaths among adults 65 and older over the summer, raises questions about whether more can be done to encourage older adults to stay up to date on their vaccinations.
The total number of deaths for people 65 and older more than doubled from April to July 2022 and stayed high in August 2022, topping 11,000 in both July and August (Figure 1, Table 1).
