U.S. Hits Highest COVID19 Hospitalizations For People Under 50

The pace of Covid-19 hospitalizations is surging across the US, with the rates for children and adults under 50 hitting their highest levels yet, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Every age group under 50 has surpassed its previous record of hospitalizations, which were recorded in the first half of January. The biggest increase was in adults ages 30 to 39 and children under 18, both of which were more than 30% higher than their previous peak, according to the CDC data.

The rate of hospitalizations for all ages is still below the January high, CDC data shows. But at the current pace — an average of more than 11,000 new hospital admissions for Covid-19 over the past week — the US might reach a record high within a month, the CDC said. Those most at risk of experiencing severe illness and hospitalization are the unvaccinated, according to experts. Yet only 51% of the population is fully vaccinated against the virus, according to the CDC.

Trump said on TV yesterday that Covid was "virtually gone" when he left office — "it was over."

I’m ignoring 99% of Trump nonsense these days, but that's bad. On his last day, there were more than 193K reported new cases, more than 4K new deaths, more than 120K hospitalized.

— Daniel Dale (@ddale8) August 19, 2021

The alarming surge in cases, driven by the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus, has been met with pleas from health experts and officials for more people to get vaccinated. It has also spurred an often-acrimonious debate about mask mandates, especially in schools, as well as a growing realization that booster vaccine shots may be required to address waning efficacy.

New @CDCMMWR shows more deaths than usual in 2020. People from racial and ethnic minority groups were most affected. Among those 65+, most were COVID-19 deaths; among those 25 and younger, most were from other causes. Read more: https://t.co/m6tx4RLbwc. pic.twitter.com/EFgn2PN99k

— CDC (@CDCgov) August 19, 2021

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In the current surge, health experts are particularly concerned about children going back to school — especially those who are too young to be vaccinated. Currently, children under 12 are not eligible for the vaccines, although clinical trials are ongoing. Making vaccinations available to children is a priority for the Biden administration, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said, and the US Food and Drug Administration will evaluate the data from clinical trials quickly once it’s provided by the companies that make the vaccines.

Tune in now for this morning’s COVID-19 briefing with Dr. Fauci, Dr. Murthy, Dr. Walensky, and Jeff Zients. https://t.co/ySjhoZI81k

— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) August 18, 2021