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Even as vaccination for the age group of 45-plus has started since April 1, it's this age group that has taken the maximum hit during the second wave peak in Odisha, both in cases and deaths.
While the number of positives this age group added during the peak of second-wave from April 13-June 17 has been nearly 1.6 lakh, the toll from the age group during the period has been around 840.
Though data with State Health Department reveals that the age group of 15-40 years topped the burden list in the State with over 2.8 lakh positives, an analysis shows the disease burden in the age group of 41-60 years has been highest for the fact that the new cases in this age group accounted for a whopping 68 per cent of the combined positives in the age group during the two waves that hit the State.
In contrast, the total new positive cases in the age group of 15-40 years during the second wave period of April 13-Jun 17 has been only around 61 per cent of the total positive cases detected during both the first and second wave.
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COVID Prone Age Group?
A detailed glance at the data available with Odisha Health Department reveals that in the indicator of fresh positive cases, two age-groups - children in 0-14 years age and adults in 41-60 years of age - have seen the biggest rise in cases during the second wave in the State.
• A total of around 27,682 children have been detected as Covid-19 positives in State during the period of April 13-June 17
• The new cases account for over 60 per cent of the total combined positives detected in the age group during the first and second wave.
• Similarly, the new positives detected during the second period of April 13-Jun 17 in the age group of 41-60 years have been over 1.62 lakh.
• The new cases are over 68 per cent of the combined positive cases recorded in the age group during the two waves of the pandemic.
The Other Story
Data shows the number of new positives in the elderly age group of 60 plus years in the second wave has been around 47,187, whereas the tally in the age group of 15-40 years has been over 2.85 lakh. This shows maximum positive cases have been detected in the State from the age group of 15-40 years.
However, if the per cent burden is taken into account, the new cases in the elderly populace have been around 55 per cent of the combined positives in the first and second wave. And in the case of the 15-40 years age group, the proportion stood at around 61 per cent.
The Interpretation
Though the new cases in all the age groups during the second wave have been more than half of the combined cases during the two waves, the maximum rise, however, has been witnessed in the age group of 41-60 years.
Similarly, in the toll chart during the second wave, with a burden of around 840 deaths, the age group of 41-60 years alone has accounted for around 52-55 per cent of total Covid-19 fatalities in the State.
"Since the co-morbid conditions like diabetes and hypertension afflict majorly the people of over 40 -years age, and this age-group has been the working age-group also, the highest rise, therefore, has been witnessed among them. It has been a double whammy for this age group. While co-morbid conditions make them prone to infection, these conditions also create lot of complications for moderate to severe covid positive patients. Vaccination has also been low compared to the elderly age group," explained Dr Biswanath Padhi, senior medicine specialist, Khordha DHH.
