If Omicron is mild, why are senior citizens dying?

A senior citizen takes her shot at Nair hospital. Pic/Suresh Karkera

As COVID-19 fatalities in the third wave hit double digits for the first time on January 15, data shows that 88.40 per cent of those who lost their lives in the past 15 days were senior citizens. Doctors told mid-day that most were affected by the Delta variant, or compromised by no vaccination or having taken just one dose. They have, however, suggested that a detailed study be conducted for clarity on the casualties of the third wave, which is dominated by the Omicron variant that is causing mild infection.

Doctors said that the upper respiratory tract infection - nose, nasal cavity, mouth, throat and voice box - was seen in most cases during the third COVID-19 wave, but in most deaths, the Coronavirus infection had spread to the lungs or the lower respiratory tract. As per the data received from the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the city has seen 69 deaths from January 1 to January 15. While 61 of them were aged 60 years and above, the remaining eight were in the age group of 40-59 years.

A doctor helps a senior citizen walk to the camp to get tested for COVID-19, at Thakur Complex, Kandivli. File pic

Dr Avinash Supe, former director of BMC tertiary care hospitals and the head of the state COVID-19 death audit committee, said around 80-90 per cent of the patients who succumbed to the infection were either unvaccinated or had taken only one vaccine dose. "They also had a lot of comorbidities or were immunologically weak," he said.

Speaking about the Coronavirus disease in general, Dr Supe said that only the upper respiratory tract infection was seen in most cases during the third wave. "Lungs were involved in very few cases. We still have some 560 people in ICU across the city, but only few are on invasive ventilator support, and some have got lower respiratory infections. We need more analysis though. The good news is that the numbers are coming down," he said.

On Saturday, out of the 722 people who were hospitalised, 111 were on oxygen support. Dr Kedar Toraskar, critical care specialist, Wockhardt Hospitals, said that apart from the vaccination status, the deadly Delta variant is still playing a major role in serious cases. "The third wave has been much milder than the last two. Hospitalisation is significantly less. While the majority of the infections are caused by the Omicron variant, we are still seeing some Delta cases that are leading to ICU admissions. Of about 18-19 patients in the ICU, only four require an invasive ventilator. The rest are incidental COVID-19 cases wherein they had primarily come for some other treatment and incidentally turned positive," he explained.

Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the state COVID Task Force, said that senior citizens continue to remain in the high-risk category. "Predominantly, the deaths that we are seeing are among senior citizens and who have multiple underlying comorbidities. This vulnerable group has the inability to have adequate immune response. Multiple comorbidities and old age make them prone to complications," he said.

The state health department has not reported any Omicron death so far. Doctors said that they have not seen any case where senior citizens, with comorbidities, have died after just upper respiratory tract infection caused by COVID-19.

Suresh Kakani, additional BMC commissioner, said the primary reason behind the COVID-19 fatalities is the age factor coupled with comorbidities. "We have so far seen zero Omicron deaths. The Delta variant may be playing some role in fatalities during the third wave. However, comorbidities and age together make the senior citizens more susceptible to severe infection," he said.

69
No. of deaths recorded from Jan 1-15, 2022

560
Approx. no. of COVID patients in ICU in the city