Study Sheds Light on Why COVID-19 Hits Elderly Hardest

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 30, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Elderly people who get COVID-19 have lower levels of important immune cells, which may explain why they are more likely than younger patients to have severe symptoms or die, new research suggests.

For the study, the researchers analyzed blood samples from 30 people with mild COVID-19, ranging in age from the mid-20s to late-90s. Compared with healthy people, all of the COVID-19 patients had lower numbers of T cells -- which target virus-infected cells -- in their blood.