GW Experts Available: CDC Report Finds Older Adults Make Up Two-Thirds of Covid-19 Hospitalizations

WASHINGTON (October 11, 2023) – According to a recent report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, adults 65 and older accounted for nearly two-thirds of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the United States this year, 61% of intensive care unit admissions and 88% of in-hospital deaths associated with Covid-19. Less than a quarter of individuals who were hospitalized with Covid-19 had received the recommended Covid-19 bivalent vaccine.

Faculty experts at the George Washington University are available to offer insight and analysis on the state of Covid-19 and its impact on older populations. If you would like to speak with an expert, please contact GW Media Relations at [email protected].

Melissa Batchelor is a tenured associate professor of nursing and geriatric nursing researcher at the GW School of Nursing. She is the director of GW’s interdisciplinary Center for Aging, Health and Humanities. Batchelor has worked as an administrative nurse in skilled nursing homes and practiced as a family nurse practitioner across long-term care settings. She can discuss the impact Covid-19 is having on older adults this season and the concern about a lack of vaccination among this population.

Leana Wen, a visiting professor of health policy and management at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health, is an expert on governmental response to public health crises. An emergency physician and formerly the Health Commissioner for the City of Baltimore, Wen can discuss how older people face a higher risk and practical steps that people can take to stay healthy this winter.

Emily R. Smith is an assistant professor of global health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. She is the author of a study published earlier this year showing that women with COVID are at higher risk of dying during pregnancy and can discuss the new CDC report and how to protect vulnerable groups including those aged 65 and older.

Michael Knight is an assistant professor of medicine at the GW School of Medicine & Health Sciences. He can discuss which groups are at greater risk of adverse outcomes from COVID, including older adults, African Americans. He can also discuss the protection offered by the COVID vaccine.