Average age of hospital admissions and vaccine priority groups

[Musicaldilemma]

Please could someone explain something to me that I have been wondering about. If the average age of hospital admissions is 58-60, but the very elderly are vaccinated first, how will this lead to less hospital admissions quickly? (if that is where the NHS being overwhelmed comes in)?
All the NHS TV clips I have watched in the last couple of days keep talking about hospital admissions being mainly 50s now so should they not be the priority then? If the aim is to stop overwhelming the NHS? Because if the NHS is less overwhelmed with Covid cases then everyone else needing treatment in hospitals will likely get it more quickly. From everything I have read a very elderly patient who catches Covid quickly usually dies quickly. It is the middle aged who are overwhelming the NHS?

Wow. DSD (a nurse) has just got an email to go in for the vaccine. She's off!

@ittakes2

I have been wondering the same thing. My much loved f'n'law unfort died of covid in a carehome in the first wave. The hospitals weren't accepting carehome patients so many were not taking up hospital beds. Maybe hosipitals are accepting carehome patients now. I was wondering though as the basis of the lockdowns are to protect the nhs - how thats going to work if you have an increase in middle age people with a chance to fight the virus taking up beds. I do agree that as a society we need to protect the vunerable but I am also wondering about the working age people who are vunerable. I don't like the idea of choosing who has more right to life so I deliberately avoid forming an opinion.

Group 4 and 6 on the priority list are the of all ages. Group 4 will be done by mid February and group 6 before the end of March. Also obviously all the working 50 and 60 year olds by the end of March too.

@samanthawashington

Wow. DSD (a nurse) has just got an email to go in for the vaccine. She's off!

@FindHungrySamurai

That really is a great thread, thanks for linking Janet. This is the key graph, which shows all the data clearly. I still think it’s right to vaccinate the elderly first for a variety of reasons but the NHS won’t be safe until the over 50s are vaccinated.

Your not totally wrong but I think people make the mistake of looking at ICU instead of the all hospital admissions. Which is the real problem then ICU.

Also the thing about the 50s and over in ICU is a large percentage of them are actually in groups 4 & 6 on the priority list too.

So group 4 vaccinated by mid February and group 6 in March.