Older adults less likely to be classified as having long COVID, study finds

News brief

Older man bending over from exertion — Synthetic-Exposition / iStock

A study of COVID-19 patients from 33 states found that those aged 70 and older were less likely to be classified as having long COVID compared with younger adults, US researchers reported earlier this month in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

Using data from the RECOVER-Adult study, which includes participants from 83 sites in 33 states, a team lead by researchers with the University of Arizona compared the frequency and prevalence of long-COVID symptoms among community dwelling participants ages 70 and older compared with those aged 18 to 59 years more than 135 days after their index infection. While studies estimate that from 4% to 10% of the infected population exhibit long-COVID symptoms, less is known about the prevalence or clinical presentation of long COVID in older adults.

Among 10,211 participants with prior infections and 1,189 uninfected control patients, long-COVID symptoms were most common in those aged 40 to 49 years (27%) and 50 to 59 years (26%), lower among those aged 18 to 39 (20%) and 60 to 69 years (21%), and lowest in those aged 70 years and older (13%). Compared with the age 18 to 39 group, the adjusted odds of having long COVID were higher for the age 40 to 49 group (odds ratio [OR], 1.40; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21 to 1.61) and 50 to 59 group (OR, 1.31; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.5), similar for the age 60 to 69 group (OR, 1.09; 95% CI, 0.93 to 1.27), and lower for the over 70 group (OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.85).

Some symptoms less discriminating in older adults

When the researchers looked at raw symptom frequency by infection/age strata, they found that, in participants 60 years or older both with and without prior infection, any symptoms, including problems with hearing and chest and joint pains, were less discriminating for long COVID in older adults, as they readily occurred in both older participants with and without prior infection, particularly in people 70 and older.

"Within the limits of this observational study, we conclude that in community-dwelling older adults, aging alters the prevalence and pattern of reported Long COVID," the authors concluded.

Northeast states form alliance to make public health guidance as Vermont, DC ensure COVID vaccine access

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Jim Wappes

Vaccine needle and arm — Self Magazine / Flickr cc

Seven Northeast states and New York City have formed the Northeast Public Health Collaborative (NPHC) to make evidence-based public health recommendations—including on vaccines—while Vermont and the District of Columbia are the latest US jurisdictions to announce safeguards for access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The moves come as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has taken steps to limit COVID vaccine access and has questioned the importance of several childhood vaccines.

Collaborations began early this year

A news release announcing the NPHC says that officials in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York State, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and New York City have been collaborating since early 2025 but formally announced the collaborative yesterday. Earlier this month several West Coast governors formed a similar alliance.

"The Collaborative's shared purpose is to work together in new ways … to ensure trust in public health, respond to public health threats, advance community health and strengthen confidence in vaccines and science-based medicine," according to the release on the NPHC. "The group's shared goal is to protect the health, safety and well-being of all residents by providing information based on science, data, and evidence, while working to ensure equitable access to vaccines, medications, and services."

We must always protect our public health infrastructure, reject misinformation, and maintain trust in science.

Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, MD, said, "In a time of significant change in public health, we have benefited from the enhanced collaborations between our jurisdictions."

New York City Acting Health Commissioner Michelle Morse, MD, MPH, added, "We must always protect our public health infrastructure, reject misinformation, and maintain trust in science."

Vermont, DC ensure COVID vaccine access

Meanwhile, Vermont Governor Phil Scott and the state Department of Health yesterday announced steps to ensure access to COVID vaccines through primary care providers and pharmacies. "This order is a necessary step to make sure those who want a vaccine, can get one," he said.

At least 17 other states have taken similar steps.

In addition, the Washington, DC, city council this week passed legislation that allows DC residents to get COVID vaccines from local pharmacies without a prescription.

Report: National action plans on antimicrobial resistance have had no impact on antibiotic sales

News brief

Chris Dall, MA

Global map made of pills — PeterHermesFurian / iStock

An analysis of antibiotic sales data from 37 countries found that implementation of national action plans (NAPs) for addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was not associated with changes in antibiotic sales, researchers reported yesterday in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.

The study by researchers with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the University of Toronto looked at pharmaceutical sales data from 37 countries 2 years before and 2 years after they implemented their NAPs. The World Health Organization in 2015 called on countries to adopt NAPs as part of a global effort to reduce AMR.

Tailored to country-specific needs, NAPs help governments identify steps that health agencies, regulators, and nongovernmental organizations should take to improve infection control, expand antimicrobial stewardship, and curtail inappropriate antibiotic use. The researchers undertook the study because the evidence of the impact of NAPs on antibiotic sales is limited.

Few NAPs explicitly target reduced antibiotic use

Across all countries, the antibiotic sales rate was 1.8% lower at eight quarters post-NAP implementation relative to pre-implementation trends. Country-specific effects ranged from –38.3% to 65.3%. Only three countries experienced significant declines in antibiotic sales (Jordan, –19.6%; South Africa, –33.2%; and Indonesia, –38.3%), while three countries saw significant increases (Peru, 12.5%; Vietnam, 52.9%; and Thailand, 65.3%).

When stratified by sector (retail/hospital), prescription status, and AWaRe (Access, Watch, and Reserve) classification status, the association between NAPs and antibiotic sales remained insignificant.

The study authors say one explanation for the results is that, of the 26 NAPs available in English, only 7 identified antibiotic reduction as an explicit goal, and only 3 of those set a measurable target to improve antibiotic use.

"The international effort to contain AMR requires not only broad health policy consensus but also political commitment, actionable goals, local and national infrastructure, and the capacity to translate policy into effective action," they concluded. "These findings underscore the need to develop more rigorous methods of assessing NAP effectiveness and closely study the strategies of countries that realized a decrease in consumption."