Intensive care units statistics

Four-fifths of patients in intensive care units with Covid-19 are over 60 years of age and 80% are overweight or obese, statistics show.

The newest data was presented by Ladislav Dušek, the director of the Institute of Health Information and Statistics (ÚZIS). According to the statistics, age is still a major risk factor for a serious case of Covid-19. Only 10% of ICU patients are over the age of 50. However, weight is also a big factor.

Since Thursday, the number of people in the ICUs has been above 2,000 for most days. In total, more than 9,000 people are hospitalized and tested positive for Covid-19. Around 20 to 25% of patients remain in the hospital for longer than 20 days after the first positive tests. Those are not included in the total.

According to Dušek, 1,500 to 2,000 people over the age of 65 test positive every day. Of those, about a third will need hospital care. Czech hospitals will be still under this enormous burden for at least the next seven days.

However, vaccines are already having a positive effect among over-80 year-olds. Until January, they accounted for half of all Covid-19 deaths. By mid-March, their share dropped to around 39%. Of the newly infected seniors, only a few of them live in senior homes, where vaccinations began first. Right now, 60% of people over the age of 80 are vaccinated. In the age group of 70 to 79 year-olds, it is 20%.