Young women in their 20s are most at risk of COVID-19 infection

Young people may be forgiven for thinking they’re invulnerable, but the latest government data should make them think twice.

High-risk age group: Annabel Laycock 27, left, and Cinnamon Larsen, 26, with their dogs Lady and Khan at Centennial Park in Sydney. Picture: John Feder

As the death toll from coronavirus among elderly Australians climbs, young people may be forgiven for thinking they’re invulnerable. But the latest data should make them think twice — and young women should especially take note.

Women aged in their 20s are Australia’s most infected coronavirus cohort, although why they’re ­affected in greater numbers than young men remains unclear.

“It could be because younger women are more likely to go and get themselves tested or maybe ­because they are slightly more ­social,” said Melbourne University professorial fellow John Mathews.

“The other thing to think about is young women in that age group, there would be more of them working in hospitality, and people working in contact with infected people are more likely to be nurses, of which there are more women.”

The latest data from the federal Department of Health reveals that 369 women aged between 25 and 29 have developed COVID-19 in Australia, making up more than 52 per cent of that age category compared to males. In the 20-24 category, women represent more than 62 per cent of the age bracket.

The data shows women in their 20s account for the largest cohort of coronavirus patients, with more than 700 cases recorded. The next largest cohort is men aged in their 20s, with fewer than 600 cases having been recorded.

For Sydneysider Annabel Laycock, 27, the data is a wake-up call. “I thought it was more older people, so hearing that is a bit of a shock,” she said.

Unlike the crowds that flocked to the city’s Bondi Beach in early March, young people are now as likely to be shuttering themselves at home as are the elderly.

Twenty-six-year-old Cinnamon Larsen works in finance in Sydney but it has been weeks since she’s seen the ­inside of an office building. “I’m working from home so I’m not going out much, except for the essentials like food or for exercising. I’m not really seeing too many people,” she said.

Ms Larsen said she felt more vulnerable upon discovering she was part of the most-infected category, but was willing to observe strict social distancing in order to stay safe.

Ciara Mahon, 28, from Ireland, who is working as a teacher in Sydney, said she had been unaware of being in Australia’s highest-risk category of infection. “You think, oh we’re young enough, we should be fine, but I guess not. However, there are only so many precautions you can take,” she said.

Ms Mahon, whose sister is a nurse working with children, has taken extra precautions to protect her household against corona­virus. “We’re not allowed to have anyone over because our building has strict rules, as we live with lots of at-risk people. So anyone who isn’t a resident can’t come in.

“We socialise in the house, eat in the house, don’t really go anywhere. All we do is go for walks.”

Professor Mathews said young women should be careful but not afraid. “They’re young and even if they get seriously ill they are much less likely to die because the death rate is higher in men,” he said.