As Covid-19 spread to the US, an early narrative from public health officials was that it affected primarily "the elderly" and that younger populations had little to worry about beyond very mild symptoms other than ensuring they didn't spread it accidentally to older individuals.
Looking at online news, mentions of Covid-19 alongside "elderly" or "older" or "years old" begin around March 3 and peak from March 7 to 20, falling sharply on March 21 and remaining at a low level since.
In contrast, worldwide online news coverage begins on Jan 21, begins accelerating around Feb. 13, takes off around March 1, peaks around March 14th to 22nd and then has declined since.
Thus, worldwide news began the story first, US television peaked first and both have declined since.
