COVID-19 killing more young Americans than expected

In the United States, 80 percent of deaths caused by the COVID-19 are people older than 65-year-old, The New York Times reported on Dec 16.

However, the newspaper citing a new research from the Journal of the American Medical Association said the adults aged 25 to 44 died at historic rates from March through the end of July, with almost 12,000 more deaths than were expected based on historical norms.

The report titled People Thought Covid-19 Was Relatively Harmless for Younger Adults. They Were Wrong using a series of data showed that over the past 20 years an average of 11,000 American adults died each July. This year that number swelled to over 16,000. The trends continued this fall. Based on prior trends, around 154,000 in this demographic are projected to die in 2020.

Over 170,000 deaths are expected among US adults in this demographic by the end of 2020, The New York Times said.

The newspaper pointed out the COVID-19 is the driving force behind these excess deaths.

"We need to amend our messaging and our policies now, and we need to tell young people that they are at risk and that they need to wear masks and make safer choices about social distancing," said The New York Times.