Local COVID-19 Death Rate Dropping as Younger People Contract Virus

As the median age of local COVID-19 patients continues to decrease due to more cases occurring among previously healthy adult and younger populations, a lower percentage of people will experience severe illnesses and a lower percentage of cases will result in deaths, according to an epidemiologist working in the city’s Public Health Department.

But make no mistake: The virus is still deadly.

“As the absolute number of cases increases, so will the absolute number of deaths, even if it’s a lower proportion of total cases,” said Dr. Matthew Feaster.

As of Tuesday morning, Pasadena has recorded 2,127 COVID-19 infections and 111 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

On Monday, a city official said the median age of local patients has fallen to 47, despite the initial spread among long-term healthcare facilities.

Although fewer people are succumbing to the virus because it has entered a healthier and younger part of the population, herd immunity still has not been attained, according to Feaster.

In order to obtain herd immunity a significant majority of our community would have immunity- either by infection or vaccination – such that very few hosts would be left for the virus, Feaster said.

Some experts believe that’s what happened during the 1918 influenza pandemic that killed millions.

“For all infectious diseases, as people develop some amount of immunity from infection or when the vaccine becomes available to induce immunity, we can create barriers of immunity preventing people from spreading this disease,” Feaster said. “The measure of herd immunity is directly proportional to the infectiousness of a disease [the R naught], and this disease has aptly demonstrated its ability to spread, which means we will need a high level of herd immunity to protect the public.”

Despite the lack of herd immunity, several vaccines have shown promise, but it is unknown when they will be ready for release to the general public.

“This virus is incredibly relentless,” said Dr. Kim Shriner,

infectious disease specialist at Huntington Hospital.

Shriner cautions that although young people may not experience severe disease, they can transmit the virus.

“We are seeing many more symptomatic young people requiring hospitalization and even having bad outcomes,” Shriner said.

As of Tuesday morning, doctors at Huntington Hospital were treating 34 patients infected with the virus, according to the hospital’s digital information dashboard.

“We are encouraged to see a decrease in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients this week. But we remain cautious. We know how quickly the numbers can rise, and with gatherings taking place, numbers can change quickly if we don’t observe social distancing and use masks meticulously. Large gatherings, even with family, have proven to be very effective transmission events. As hard as this is, we have no choice but to press on until there is a vaccine.

“We want the community to understand that even though hospitalizations appear to be declining this week, that doesn’t mean COVID-19 is going away,” Shriner said. “Quite the opposite: COVID-19 is increasingly present in the community. Reduced hospitalization doesn’t mean we can let our guard down and immediately loosen restrictions. For the safety of our family members, friends, and neighbors, please continue to follow the safety measures set forth by our health officials.”