While elderly suffer most, younger adults are responsible for most COVID spread

A new study published in the journal Science shows that the majority of the spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. last year was caused by young adults and middle aged people. The report found that more than 70% of the spread of the coronavirus was caused by people between the ages of 20 and 49.

That may not be surprising considering that people in that age group are the most likely to be out in the community especially working in service industry jobs that have been considered essential during the pandemic.

However, the weight of the pandemic has fallen most harshly on older people. The vast majority of deaths attributable to COVID-19 have been among people 65 and older, according to the CDC.

The data gives the lie to the notion that healthy adults should be able to go about their lives while isolation efforts are focused on the elderly.

According the authors of the report, vaccination efforts are the best way to bring the spread of the virus under control.

“This suggests that additional interventions to adults aged 20-49, including rapid mass vaccination if vaccines prove to block transmission, could bring resurgent COVID-19 epidemics under control,” they wrote.

You can read more on Axios.