5 Top States Where 50-Somethings See Rising COVID-19 Hospitalizations

As society has eased up on COVID-19 pandemic-control rules, the COVID-19 case rate is increasing rapidly, and now financial professionals have a tricky question to consider: Will the higher case rates have any bearing on life insurance and retirement planning?

One sign that it could: Hospitalization counts for U.S. residents ages 50 through 59 are rising.

For people ages 50 through 59, the number of new COVID-19 hospital admissions recorded in the last seven days increased to 1,413 for the seven-day period ending May 1, up about 15% from the total for the seven-day period ending April 25, according to data in a federal COVID-19 Community Profile Report that was posted May 3.

COVID-19 hospitalization counts for people in that age group increased more than 10% in 16 states. For a look at the five states with the biggest hospitalization count increases for people ages 50-59, see the gallery above.

What It Means

Ups and downs in case counts could reflect everything from changes in state testing requirements to dramatic-looking trends in cases that cause no symptoms at all.

An increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations is a solid indicator that the pandemic is leading to a real increase in the number of people who have cases of COVID-19 that matter.

The government’s hospitalization figures for people ages 50 through 59 may be especially relevant for insurers, because most people in that age group who have been working are still in the labor force; they account for a large share of the market for everything from protection life insurance to accumulation-oriented annuities; and they are at serious risk of dying from COVID-19.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not provide COVID-19 mortality rate data specifically for the 50-59 age group, but it says people in the 50-64 age group are 25 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than people in the 18-29 age group.

The Backdrop

The COVID-19 delta and omicron variants ended up making public health forecasters’ nightmares come true in the first quarter.

The death rate spiked hard in January, then eased in February. But the average for the whole quarter was terrible.

Very early, incomplete numbers in the provisional death tables compiled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that COVID-19 itself caused at least 141,338 deaths during the first 12 weeks of the year. Those preliminary numbers are down from a COVID-19 death total of 167,379 in the first quarter of 2021.

But the overall excess mortality rate was still a stunning 21% higher than in the first quarter of 2019, before the pandemic appeared.

The overall excess mortality rate was down only modestly from the even more catastrophic excess mortality rate recorded in the first quarter of 2021.

New General Population Numbers

The total number of U.S. cases recorded increased to 422,871 for the seven-day period ending May 2, up from a recent low of 177,052 for the week ending March 28.

Many Americans have been vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19, or have successfully fought off infections. Treatments are changing. The virus itself is always changing.

The new cases could mostly be a nuisance that will lead to little new serious illness in the kinds of working-age people who hold the most life insurance, and who are putting the most assets in annuities and other retirement savings arrangements.

The number of people now in U.S. hospitals with COVID-19 is low. Patients with COVID-19 now occupy fewer than 1% of inpatient hospital beds, down from 21% in January.

But government numbers show that the total number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations is climbing: The overall number of confirmed COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 U.S. residents of all ages has increased to 4.4 in the latest week, up from 3.0 in early April.

COVID-19 Hospital Admissions, as of May 1

Jurisdiction
Population
Confirmed COVID-19 hospital admissions, last 7 days, ages 50-59
Rate per 100,000 people, ages 50-59
Confirmed COVID-19 admissions, ages 50-59, % change from previous 7 days

x
Total
Ages 50-59

Alabama
4,903,185
643,467
13
2.0
-13%

Alaska
731,545
90,858
3
3.3
(low)

Arizona
7,278,717
865,228
33
3.8
14%

Arkansas
3,017,804
377,202
5
1.3
(low)

California
39,512,223
4,971,814
124
2.5
29%

Colorado
5,758,736
705,524
16
2.3
-27%

Connecticut
3,565,287
519,285
38
7.3
65%

Delaware
973,764
131,461
7
5.3
(low)

District of Columbia
705,749
72,284
8
11.1
(low)

Florida
21,477,737
2,857,480
116
4.1
22%

Georgia
10,617,423
1,377,551
35
2.5
17%

Hawaii
1,415,872
172,896
10
5.8
(low)

Idaho
1,787,065
208,451
3
1.4
(low)

Illinois
12,671,821
1,654,125
73
4.4
52%

Indiana
6,732,219
858,624
26
3.0
136%

Iowa
3,155,070
394,991
17
4.3
55%

Kansas
2,913,314
352,186
10
2.8
-17%

Kentucky
4,467,673
589,611
10
1.7
-57%

Louisiana
4,648,794
586,907
11
1.9
(low)

Maine
1,344,212
197,274
8
4.1
(low)

Maryland
6,045,680
839,893
13
1.5
-24%

Massachusetts
6,892,503
955,366
47
4.9
-2%

Michigan
9,986,857
1,350,138
73
5.4
97%

Minnesota
5,639,632
735,366
26
3.5
24%

Mississippi
2,976,149
377,206
5
1.3
(low)

Missouri
6,137,428
795,659
13
1.6
-35%

Montana
1,068,778
132,325
1
0.8
(low)

Nebraska
1,934,408
230,572
3
1.3
(low)

Nevada
3,080,156
391,900
13
3.3
(low)

New Hampshire
1,359,711
207,237
6
2.9
(low)

New Jersey
8,882,190
1,258,312
32
2.5
0%

New Mexico
2,096,829
255,693
4
1.6
(low)

New York
19,453,561
2,623,449
199
7.6
6%

North Carolina
10,488,084
1,377,918
28
2.0
-3%

North Dakota
762,062
86,502
3
3.5
(low)

Ohio
11,689,100
1,541,776
37
2.4
3%

Oklahoma
3,956,971
475,888
4
0.8
(low)

Oregon
4,217,737
514,883
18
3.5
-10%

Pennsylvania
12,801,989
1,739,770
57
3.3
12%

Rhode Island
1,059,361
147,608
5
3.4
(low)

South Carolina
5,148,714
671,937
16
2.4
78%

South Dakota
884,659
106,949
3
2.8
(low)

Tennessee
6,829,174
893,171
28
3.1
56%

Texas
28,995,881
3,420,914
104
3.0
17%

Utah
3,205,958
306,893
1
0.3
(low)

Vermont
623,989
88,196
11
12.5
10%

Virginia
8,535,519
1,134,460
17
1.5
-35%

Washington
7,614,893
944,104
38
4.0
9%

West Virginia
1,792,147
240,054
9
3.7
(low)

Wisconsin
5,822,434
794,310
31
3.9
182%

Wyoming
578,759
69,620
2
2.9
(low)

TOTAL
328,239,523
42,335,288
1,413

MEDIAN

3.0
11%

Source: COVID-19 Community Profile Report, May 3. The government team that compiles the reports leaves out hospitalization change figures for an age group when the number was lower than 20 in both the latest week and the previous week.

Pictured: A quick wave of COVID-19 cases flashed over U.S. hospitals at the start of the year. Now, the question is whether an increase in admissions is part of a new wave, or just a ripple. (Photo: Black Salmon/Shutterstock)