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COVID has killed 82,875 people in Florida and about three-quarters of them were 65 or older. Thankfully, COVID is killing far fewer people than during the delta and omicron surges. But the virus is still on track to kill 150,000 to 175,000 U.S. residents this year, about the same number who die from accidents (170,000) or strokes (150,000), and more than die from Alzheimer’s (120,000) and far more than succumb to influenza (12,000 to 52,000). And older Americans — and Floridians — account for a higher percentage of the deaths than ever. Now, more than 9 in 10 COVID deaths in Florida occur among those 65 and older.
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In our new live and let die world, younger and healthy people have the luxury of pretending COVID is behind us, the nasty downsides of long COVID notwithstanding. For them, life is back to normal. But COVID is still a real and present danger to large groups of Floridians. They have a right to be safe. As we go about our daily lives, we should think about how best to protect them — and if you’re 65 or older or immunocompromised, how to protect yourself.
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