Study suggests age does not contribute to COVID-19 susceptibility

Scientists have estimated that the age of an individual does not indicate how likely they are to be infected by SARS-CoV-2.

However, the development of symptoms, the progression of the disease, and mortality are age-dependent.

There have been a large number of deaths due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and it has been shown that elderly individuals disproportionately develop severe symptoms and show higher mortality.

A team of scientists, including Associate Professor Ryosuke Omori from the Research Center for Zoonoses Control at Hokkaido University, have modelled available data from Japan, Spain and Italy to show that susceptibility to COVID-19 is independent of age, while the occurrence of symptomatic COVID-19, severity and mortality is likely dependent on age.

Their results were published in the journal Scientific Reports on October 6, 2020.