PANCE Infectious Disease Practice Test

Older age is the big driver of risk for severe COVID-19. As people age, the immune system undergoes changes (immunosenescence) and there’s often chronic inflammation (inflammaging). These shifts, along with more frequent chronic illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic lung disease, and kidney disease, reduce the body’s ability to fight off the virus and to cope with the respiratory stress it can cause. That combination—weaker immune response, less physiological reserve, and more comorbidities—leads to higher chances of hospitalization, need for intensive care, respiratory failure, and death.

Vaccination lowers risk, so immunization isn’t a factor that increases risk. Younger children under 12 generally have milder disease, though rare severe cases can occur. Having no underlying conditions typically implies a lower risk rather than higher.