RAEL’S COMMENT:
“The death rate for everyone under the age of 49 was below 0.5 percent.”
With death rates from Covid-19 varying wildly around the globe, you might be wondering about your chances of survival if you contract the virus. There are no simple answers — but there are some things that put you at higher risk.
It’s no surprise that people are confused as to how deadly the virus is, given the differing figures and conflicting information. In early March, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported a global ‘snapshot’ death rate of 3.4 percent. Yet Italy — the epicenter of the pandemic in Europe — has reported a death rate of over 7 percent. Meanwhile, the death rate in Spain is hovering nearer the WHO estimate at 3.1 percent — and in some countries, it’s much lower than that.
There is much speculation about the reasons for the big variations by country (we’ll get back to that later), but a better way to estimate your chances of recovery is to look at some more personal risk factors.
How old are you?
It’s commonly known at this stage that the older you are, the worse the stats look. With the pandemic in full swing across the world and figures changing hourly, it makes sense to look at the latest figures from China, which has had the most experience with the virus (and has finally managed to contain it).
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CCDC) reported a death rate of 14.8 percent for patients over 80 years old and 8 percent for patients in their 70s. It dropped to 3.6 percent for people in their 60s and 1.3 percent for the 50-59 age group. Fortunately, the death rate for everyone under the age of 49 was below 0.5 percent — so clearly, age is one of the most major factors to consider.
