Deonandan said one of the key underlying vulnerabilities that puts every age group at risk is respiratory impairment, especially in people with conditions such as obesity, diabetes and asthma.
"That's almost everyone," he said. "I know people in their 20s and 30s who are a little overweight, who smoke, who vape, who enjoy inhaling marijuana — all of these things compromise your lung function sufficiently to make you vulnerable."
...'Everybody is susceptible': Why younger Canadians may be helping fuel the spread of COVID-19
...Canadians younger than 40 make up one-third of COVID-19 cases
...Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said Sunday that those under 40 made up about 12 per cent of hospitalized cases.
"This statistic is important because it shows that younger age groups are also experiencing illness severe enough to require hospitalization," Tam tweeted.
Steven Hoffman, director of the Global Strategy Lab and a global health law professor at York University, said that while the rates of hospitalization and death for younger Canadians are lower than older age groups, they're not insignificant.
"It's not even close to zero," he said. "Twelve per cent is still a significant number that should make any younger person stop and pause to recognize that this represents a threat not only to elder members of our society, but to everyone."
Hoffman said communicating the risks of dangerous activities to young people who think they're "invincible" is always a challenge, but the damage in ignoring containment measures like physical distancing and self-isolation can have devastating effects.
"It's just amplified during a pandemic because usually it's young people who, in ignoring understanding of risk, are endangering themselves and themselves alone," he said.
"In this context, young people's actions also can put other people at risk, especially the more older people that they come in contact with."
...Dr. Raywat Deonandan, a global health epidemiologist and an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, said it's important for younger people to remember we've never encountered this new coronavirus, so we've built up no immunity to it.
"Everybody is susceptible," he said. "Everybody."
...Deonandan said a misconception that older age groups are solely susceptible to serious complications from COVID-19 came from early data on China's cases, which showed elderly people — particularly those who smoked — were more likely to have bad outcomes.
"But by the time it made it to Europe, it was shifting dramatically," Deonandan said. "In Europe, we're seeing people being hospitalized a lot in their 30s, 40s and 50s and dying in that age group as well."
...Kelvin, who is also a member of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology and part of a research team for a clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine, wrote about the significant risk children play in spreading the virus in a commentary on the study.
"They actually have a higher percentage of being asymptomatic. We don't know if they have it, so parents should stop sharing food with the kids," she said, "and make sure there are no quarantine playdates."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-young-people-canada-1.5516936
"That's almost everyone," he said. "I know people in their 20s and 30s who are a little overweight, who smoke, who vape, who enjoy inhaling marijuana — all of these things compromise your lung function sufficiently to make you vulnerable."
...'Everybody is susceptible': Why younger Canadians may be helping fuel the spread of COVID-19
...Canadians younger than 40 make up one-third of COVID-19 cases
...Canada's chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said Sunday that those under 40 made up about 12 per cent of hospitalized cases.
"This statistic is important because it shows that younger age groups are also experiencing illness severe enough to require hospitalization," Tam tweeted.
Steven Hoffman, director of the Global Strategy Lab and a global health law professor at York University, said that while the rates of hospitalization and death for younger Canadians are lower than older age groups, they're not insignificant.
"It's not even close to zero," he said. "Twelve per cent is still a significant number that should make any younger person stop and pause to recognize that this represents a threat not only to elder members of our society, but to everyone."
Hoffman said communicating the risks of dangerous activities to young people who think they're "invincible" is always a challenge, but the damage in ignoring containment measures like physical distancing and self-isolation can have devastating effects.
"It's just amplified during a pandemic because usually it's young people who, in ignoring understanding of risk, are endangering themselves and themselves alone," he said.
"In this context, young people's actions also can put other people at risk, especially the more older people that they come in contact with."
...Dr. Raywat Deonandan, a global health epidemiologist and an associate professor at the University of Ottawa, said it's important for younger people to remember we've never encountered this new coronavirus, so we've built up no immunity to it.
"Everybody is susceptible," he said. "Everybody."
...Deonandan said a misconception that older age groups are solely susceptible to serious complications from COVID-19 came from early data on China's cases, which showed elderly people — particularly those who smoked — were more likely to have bad outcomes.
"But by the time it made it to Europe, it was shifting dramatically," Deonandan said. "In Europe, we're seeing people being hospitalized a lot in their 30s, 40s and 50s and dying in that age group as well."
...Kelvin, who is also a member of the Canadian Centre for Vaccinology and part of a research team for a clinical trial of a COVID-19 vaccine, wrote about the significant risk children play in spreading the virus in a commentary on the study.
"They actually have a higher percentage of being asymptomatic. We don't know if they have it, so parents should stop sharing food with the kids," she said, "and make sure there are no quarantine playdates."
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/coronavirus-young-people-canada-1.5516936
