The previous headline made the front page of the New York Times in mid-December of 2021. In the subhead it was noted that as virus-related deaths reached 800,000 in the U.S., "Three quarters Are Age 65 and Older."

Up front, the statistics prominently reported by the Times aren't brought up to shrink the meaning of the virus. Real people died, and real people lost loved ones. At the same time, it can at the very least be said that it's rarely a tragedy when someone over 65 passes in the way it is for a toddler, a teenager, or a young parent. Thank goodness a virus that by many accounts spread faster than the flu largely spared those who could still claim youth, or children. Better yet, as the aforementioned headline made plain, the virus has proved pretty meek when met by old people too.