Stronger Immune System is Making Young Covid-19 Patients Very Sick in Second Wave: Report

Doctors have said that a large number of young aged between 18 and 45 are suffering from severe symptoms, partly due to their stronger immune system.

According to a report by Times of India, the reason behind the development, a cytokine storm, occurs when the body starts attacking its own cells and tissues in an attempt to kill the virus. It is suffered by the elderly as well, but due to their relatively weaker immune system, the impact is milder and often not fatal.

CMRI Hospital director of pulmonology Raja Dhar told TOI, “They are healthy individuals and very few had comorbidities. From last year’s experience, we have seen such patients suffer a very mild disease but many of them have succumbed to Covid this time. One of the reasons is cytokine storm. Lungs have been the most affected organ, followed by the heart, kidneys and the liver. That is why breathing distress has been the first severe symptom of Covid for these youngsters.”

Since the elderly and the middle-aged are already vaccinated, the young remains the most vulnerable part of the population, according to Belle Vue Clinic internal medicine consultant. “They are not only unprotected but also suffer from a complacency that they will have a mild disease. But the second wave has been different from the first and the severity is much more this time. Unlike last time, it has not been sparing those without comorbidities. In fact, a majority of our patients are youngsters which is very depressing,” he said.

The Centre’s Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme showed around 32% of patients (both hospitalised and outside hospitals) were aged less than 30 in the second wave, as against 31 per cent during the first wave. Among people aged 30-40, the incidence of infection remains unchanged at 21 per cent during both waves. However, the requirement of oxygen among the young is higher this time.

According to several reports, many of the young patients have been reporting ‘ground glass opacity’ in their lungs, which is a condition where the appearance of the lung changes because of the infection. The fact that several of the variants currently in circulation are more infectious, infecting entire families, could be one reason for the spike in cases in young people, suspect officials at the National centre for Disease Control.

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