Study sheds light on death spike in Hong Kong COVID-19 surge

The recent Omicron variant surge in Hong Kong came with a mortality rate among the world's highest yet in the pandemic, a troubling development in a region known for its strong pandemic measures, and today researchers from the United States, Hong Kong, and China who dug into the data suggest that vaccination lapses in older people played a major role.The team published its findings today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).In other developments, China's surge continued, prompting more locations to tighten their measures, and in the United States, COVID-19 levels are rising again in the East.Vaccine gap in oldest Hong KongersHong Kong's surge began in early January with a cluster of Omicron infections in a quarantine hotel.

Its fifth wave peaked on Mar 4, along with a mortality rate of 37.7 per million population that was among the highest in the world during the pandemic.Officials reported 5,906 deaths as of Mar 21 during the Omicron surge.

Of eligible people in Hong Kong, 64% had received at least two vaccube doses and 5% had gotten a booster dose, but coverage varied by age.

Only 49% of people ages 60 and older had gotten at least two doses, with coverage declining as people got older.Among the deaths, 96% occurred in people ages 60 and older, and of those 70% were unvaccinated. "The high overall mortality rate during the ongoing 2022 Hong Kong Omicron COVID-19 outbreak is being driven by deaths among unvaccinated persons aged ≥60 years," the team wrote.In weighing other factors, the team compared Hong Kong's surge with New Zealand, which has a lower population density but, like Hong Kong, was thought to largely have vaccine-induced immunity due to vaccination combined with low infection levels during