September 23, 2020

Changing Age Distribution of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, May–August 2020

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

Keywords (Tags): public health, transmission

• There was a shift in the age distribution of people affected by COVID-19 in the US between the period of January-May and June-August 2020, with a larger proportion of younger age groups affected in the later period. The authors conclude that this report provides preliminary evidence that younger adults contributed to community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to older adults, based on the observation that in June, the increase in SARS-CoV-2 cases among younger adults preceded the increase among older adults by 4–15 days. [EDITORIAL NOTE. A lag in the increase in SARS-CoV-2 cases among older adults could also be explained by delays in presentation for testing among older versus young people]

Boehmer et al. (Sept 23, 2020). Changing Age Distribution of the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, May–August 2020. MMWR. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6939e1