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Bhubaneswar: With the second wave having choked out the lives of as many 31 people in Odisha in just 21 days, the lethality is the second wave is seemingly killing them young.
In sharp contrast to the first wave, in the second wave, the infected patients in the age group of 24-40 years look more vulnerable in succumbing to the contagious disease than those in the 60-plus age group.
KILLING THEM YOUNG?
In the last 21-days, over 32 per cent of the mortalities reported due to Covid-19 in Odisha have been in the age group of 24-40 years.
On the contrary, the mortalities in the age group of 60-plus stood lower at around 26 per cent of the total deaths so far in April.
However, like the peak of the first wave, the highest proportion of Covid-19 fatalities have been reported in the age group of 41-60 years.
SECOND WAVE TOLL MAP
Showing a changing trend, the toll in the first month of the second wave is growing at a rapid pace vis-a-vis the first wave. But the saving grace is the rate of fatality is lesser.
During the first wave, the case fatality rate in the State hovered between 0.4-0.5 per cent, whereas, during the first 21 days of the second wave, the rate has been at around 0.07 per cent.
However, the warning sign is the victims have been mostly in the age group of 24-60 years.
- Like in the first wave, the number of fatalities in the age group of 41-60 years is highest this time too. The age group accounts for over 38 per cent of the deaths so far.
- Though there has been no single death reported in the age group of 0-14 years, the younger age group of 24-40 years share a higher burden of over 32 per cent, when the proportion of toll in the 60+ stood lower at around 26 per cent.
FIRST WAVE TOLL CHART
In the first wave, new confirmed cases surged in May 2020. Unlike the second wave, deaths picked up a month after the surge. From 9-deaths till May, June 2020 saw 23 deaths.
However, fatalities surged from July and peaked in October – the month following the peak month in the first wave.
The above trend analysis shows in the first wave, the virus-led toll picked up a month after the surge and even peaked a month later to the peak month.
The age group wise fatalities in 2020 are as follows:
- Age group-wise toll rate reveals that the number of fatalities in the 15-40 years had been around 8 -10 per cent.
- The share of fatalities in the age group of 41-60 years had been estimated at around 44-47 per cent.
- In the most vulnerable age group of 60+, the number of fatalities constituted a pie of 43-44 per cent.
- The fatalities in the least vulnerable group of 0-14 years had been around 2 per cent.
WHY THE TWIST IN TOLL?
Though deaths without co-morbidities take a share of around 20 per cent of total mortalities in April, the fatalities have been across the age group (24+). In the first wave, the number of deaths sans co-morbidities stood in the range of 25-30 per cent.
The above comparison shows that around 80 per cent of deaths in April have co-morbid conditions. Data shows nearly 95 per cent of deaths in the age group of 24-40 years have been due to hypertension, diabetes or both.
The big takeaway is the deaths in the second wave has been majorly due to co-morbid conditions like the first wave.
But the twist is the wave is proving more harmful for the younger age group of 24-40 years vis-a-vis 60+ years. And the only change witnessed this time is over 6 per cent of the elderly population had taken full doses of vaccination.
“Studies reveal that vaccines prevent death and severe complications in Covid-19 infections. But we cannot draw any conclusion at this juncture,” observed State Public Health Director Niranjan Mishra.
