Also in the "It's Not Over Yet" Dept: Younger

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Younger Brazilians Are Dying From Covid in an Alarming New Shift

Hospitals are seeing a big rise in deaths of those under 50
Risk factor has gone from “being older” to “being Brazilian”

Staggering under its worst period of the pandemic, with daily records of caseloads and deaths, Brazil is facing a daunting development: a rising number of deaths among the young.

So far this month, according to government data, about 2,030 Brazilians aged 30 to 39 have died from Covid, more than double the number recorded in January. Among those in their 40s, there have been 4,150 fatalities in March, up from 1,823 in January, and for those 20-29, deaths jumped to 505 from 242.

It said cases among those aged 30 to 59 had surged from the start of the year until mid-March at a pace nearly double the national average of 316%. Those age groups saw deaths jump by at least 317%, compared with 223% for Brazil as a whole.

In Sao Paulo, the country’s richest and most populous state, the rise is especially prominent in private hospitals, state Health Secretary Jean Gorinchteyn said in an interview. Those 60 and older continue to dominate hospital admissions but the share of those under 50 has risen to 15% from 10% last year.

Sztajnbok said it’s not unusual now to see people under 40 or even in their 20s without any risk factors needing intubation and life support. Before, he said, patients were mostly over 65. “The first time that happened, we were shocked,” he said. “We were also shocked the second time. Now we are not anymore.”

The longer hospital stays are putting a strain on Brazil’s health-care system, struggling after decades of underinvestment. ICU capacity rates were at or above 80% in 25 states, according to the new Fiocruz report, while 17 states had levels higher than 90%.

In a March 23 report, Fiocruz also highlighted a “disproportionate increase in mortality in the country,” which went to 3.1% from 2% at the end of last year. The jump signals patients could be dying due to a lack of assistance or because of failures in health care, it said.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-...tr_story_2

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