Young Adults are Not Invincible to COVID-19, CDC Warns

Young adults are not invincible to COVID-19. A report from Center for  Disease Control and Prevention revealed that thirty percent of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the U.S. are from ages 20-44. One-fifth or twenty percent of these cases were hospitalized, and 12 percent among the hospitalized required ICU treatment.

The report released on March 18 studied 2,449 reported cases from February 12 to March 16. According to the report, among the 508 patients who required hospitalization, 20 percent were 20 to 44 years old. Patients that were admitted to intensive care unit totaled 121, and 12 percent were from the mentioned age group.            

Patients aged 65 and older are still the most vulnerable consisting of 45 percent of hospitalizations, 53 percent of ICU admissions and 80 percent of deaths. The said data trend is similar to cases of China and other countries.

The CDC however highlights that one-fifth or 20 percent of infected people from 20-44 have been hospitalized, and that 12 percent required treatment in an intensive care unit. It is unclear from the data whether the younger adults had underlying health conditions or habits, which is a risk factor for developing severe disease.

 Patients under 20, like other countries experienced milder symptoms. Interestingly, no death among people 19 and younger was reported in the U.S., and the same age range had less than 1% of hospitalizations.

Recently however, the World Health Organization reported of emerging cases that infants and toddlers may also develop severe complications, and even death. WHO cited a study in China where 2,143 cases of children with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 were reported to the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from Jan. 16 and Feb. 8.  Most or 90 percent of the cases were asymptomatic, mild or moderate cases. Almost 6% of the children's cases were however severe or critical, and there was one case of death. Because of this, WHO warned parents to guard kids against COVID-19 because it may also develop severe symptoms.

The CDC noted that the report, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, are preliminary. As of today, there are over 10,000 confirmed cases in the U.S., and the more people are tested, the clearer the picture of infected people and their age will be. There are  still missing data on ICU admissions and deaths.  CDC also noted that at the onset of the novel coronavirus, the health care system is targeting the people who go hospital for treatment. Thus, may be missing patients with only mild symptoms. More testing is necessary to understand the scope of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, public health officials are now going the extra mile to reach out to young people, including guesting on the Pardon My Take podcast from Barstool Sports, one of the most popular sport shows among the younger generation.

Anthony Fauci, the head of the National Institute on Allergy and Infectious Diseases called on the cooperation of young people to protect themselves and the broader population. "No one is invulnerable, but even if you are doing very well, you have to be a very important part of our national effort to contain the outbreak,'' Fauci said.