The risk of death from COVID-19 is three times greater than that of seasonal flu, researchers in Canada say.
Their findings are similar to recent studies from the United States and France. The study was published this month in the Journal of the Canadian Medical Association.
“We can now say with certainty that COVID-19 is much more severe than seasonal flu,” said the study’s author, Dr. Amol Verma, a researcher at the University of Toronto’s School of Public Health.
“Patients admitted to hospital in Ontario with COVID-19 had a 3.5 times greater risk of death, 1.5 times greater use of the ICU, and 1.5 times longer hospitalization than patients admitted with the flu, “he said in a magazine news release.
These patients were also more likely to be airlifted, according to the researcher.
The Verma team compared flu-related hospitals and COVID between November 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020 at seven hospitals in nearby Toronto and Mississauga. They have large numbers and high levels of COVID infection.
During the study period, there were 783 hospitals for influenza in 763 patients, and 1,027 hospitals for COVID in 972 patients. That represented nearly a quarter of all COVID hospitals in the Ontario region during that period.
Approximately 1 in 5 COVID patients was younger than 50, and that age group made up nearly 1 in 4 intensive care admissions.
While many people believe that COVID-19 mainly affects the elderly, “it can also cause serious illness in younger adults,” Verma said.
He noted that adults under the age of 50 accounted for 20% of COVID hospitals in the first wave of pandemic. Nearly 1 in 3 adults under 50 required intensive care and nearly 1 in 10 had to be returned to hospital after discharge, according to the study.
It’s true, Verma said, that COVID hits adults harder.
“We found that, among adults over 75 who were hospitalized with COVID-19, nearly 40% died in hospital,” he said.
Researchers said COVID could be much more dangerous than the flu because people have lower levels of immunity to the new coronavirus than the seasonal flu. Influenza and vaccines in the past have helped people to gain immunity from the disease.
“We hope that the severity of COVID-19 will decrease over time as people get vaccinated against the virus and more effective treatments will be identified. There is, unfortunately, also the potential that changes of the virus could be even worse, “Verma said.
Find out more
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on COVID-19.
Copyright 2020 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
