[stupac2]

Why are older people dying? - He says that their immune systems are not as effective.  (If that were the only reason, why don't other diseases kill off older people at the same disproportionate rate.)

I would hazard a guess that it's because there are so few novel diseases, and that older peoples' increased experience with extant diseases compared to younger people helps compensate for the lower effectiveness overall. That might explain why older people usually are hit harder by most diseases, just not this much harder.

[stupac2]

Why are older people dying? - He says that their immune systems are not as effective.  (If that were the only reason, why don't other diseases kill off older people at the same disproportionate rate.)

I would hazard a guess that it's because there are so few novel diseases, and that older peoples' increased experience with extant diseases compared to younger people helps compensate for the lower effectiveness overall. That might explain why older people usually are hit harder by most diseases, just not this much harder.