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Would An Infant Or Elderly Person Be More Vulnerable To Cold And Flu?
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Who would generally have the weakest immune system out of an infant (say 1 year - 3 year old) and an older persons (late 70’s- early 80’s)?
Assuming both were relatively physically fit for their age?
Assuming both were relatively physically fit for their age?
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The very young are far more likely to contract flu than the elderly. For example, using figures from the USA, last winter only 1.0% of those over 65 caught flu but 4.6% of those under 5 of age years did. (Two years earlier, the respective figures were 3.5% and 19.8%).
However, the death rates from flu in the elderly are much higher than those in the very young. Back in the winter of 2019-20 (when, as my last sentence above shows, very young children were over five-and-a-half times more likely to catch flu than the elderly were) the death rate from flu, per 100,000 people in the USA, was 22.1 for those over 65 but only 1.8 for those under 5.
So, even though very young children are much more likely to catch flu than the elderly, their bodies are much better-equipped to cope with it.
However, the death rates from flu in the elderly are much higher than those in the very young. Back in the winter of 2019-20 (when, as my last sentence above shows, very young children were over five-and-a-half times more likely to catch flu than the elderly were) the death rate from flu, per 100,000 people in the USA, was 22.1 for those over 65 but only 1.8 for those under 5.
So, even though very young children are much more likely to catch flu than the elderly, their bodies are much better-equipped to cope with it.
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