Median Age of Cases, Tests, Deaths

 

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This chart shows the median age (left y-axis) of COVID-19 cases for a particular week as bubbles and the number of tests (right y-axis) for a particular week as columns. The number of deaths for that week is represented by the size of the bubble.

  • The median age of cases decreases as testing increases. Testing facilities expand outside of hospitals and into communities where a greater number of younger people get tested.
  • If testing remains high, relatively constant, and the median age is younger, then fewer or similar numbers of deaths are expected.
  • If testing remains high, relatively constant, and the median age rises, then deaths are expected to increase.
  • If testing is substantially reduced or inconsistent and the median age rises, then the behavior of the amount of deaths is more *uncertain*. The rise might be due to a lack of testing or may indicate viral spread from younger people to older ones.
Chart Features Hovering over the bubbles shows the final date of the weekly interval, the median age, number of deaths, and number of tests for that week. The bar series or bubble series can selected by clicking on the opposite series in the legend. The menu button on the top right provides image and data download options and the ability to view fullscreen.




Cases by Age

 

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Both heatmaps show a breakdown of weekly COVID-19 cases by age group.

  • In the top heatmap, the intensity of color in each cell represents number of cases for that age range in a particular week.
  • In the bottom heatmap, the number of cases is scaled to per 1000 residents per age group. For example on the week that ended on May 5th, there were 2.26 cases for every 1000 residents that were 80 yrs or older.

While raw totals can give us an idea about the age distribution of cases, it can sometimes be misleading. As of 2019, there are 1,752,893 residents in the 0 to 19 age group and 815,370 residents in the 40 to 49 age group, so 2000 cases may be a substantial signal of something for one group but not the other.

Higher intensity cells in the scaled cases heatmap could indicate outbreaks in more age-consistent venues.

Example On May 5th in the top heatmap, the cell for 80 and older is on the lower end of the intensity scale, and in the bottom heatmap, the intensity of that cell is in the upper third. An explanation for this difference could be that there were outbreaks at long term care facilities. A similar instance involving the 20-29 group might indicate bars or colleges as a hotspot.

Chart Features Hovering over the cells shows the final date of the weekly interval, the age group, and weekly case total or weekly scaled case total. The menu button on the top right provides image and data download options and the ability to view fullscreen.




Deaths by Age

 

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This group of charts shows weekly death counts and trend lines for each age group.

Yellow labels in the '0 to 19' chart indicate the points when school starts.

Chart Features Hovering over the points show the final date of the weekly interval and the deaths for that week.