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Havers and Walensky do not report any relevant financial information. Please refer to the study for all relevant financial information from the other authors.
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The COVID-19 hospitalization rate for adolescents ages 12-17 in the United States has increased in recent months after declines in January and February, according to data reported on MMWR today.
According to the report, weekly COVID-19-related hospital admissions per 100,000 teens peaked at 2.1 in early January 2021, declined to 0.6 in mid-March, but rose to 1.3 in April.
Source: CDC.gov.
Of the 204 adolescents enrolled in the new report who “were hospitalized, likely primarily for COVID-19” in the first 3 months of 2021, 31.4% were admitted to the intensive care unit and 4.9% required an invasive mechanical Ventilation. according to Fiona P. Havers, MD, MHS, an epidemiologist on the CDC’s COVID-19 Response Team, and colleagues.
As of last March, the rate of COVID-19-related hospital admissions among adolescents aged 12-17 – a group now fully eligible for vaccination – has been lower compared to adults, but is higher than that of children aged 5 to 11 years. Still, CDC director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH, expressed concern about the recent surge in hospital admissions and urged parents to vaccinate their children.
Rochelle P. Walensky
“I am deeply concerned about the number of adolescents admitted to the hospital and sad to see the number of adolescents who have had to be treated in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation,” Walensky said in a statement. “Much of this suffering can be prevented.”
Havers and colleagues examined data from the Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network on adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19.
Between March 1, 2020 and April 24, 2021, the cumulative COVID-19-related hospitalization rate per 100,000 teenagers (49.9) was 12.5 times lower than the rate in adults (675.6), the data showed . It was comparable to the rates in children aged 4 years or younger, but higher than in children aged 5 to 11 years, Havers and colleagues reported.
In addition, the researchers found that October through April, COVID-19 hospitalization rates were 2.5 to three times higher than the influenza-associated hospitalization rates for the previous three influenza seasons.
Of the 204 hospitalized adolescents enrolled in the study, 52.5% were female, 31.4% were Hispanic or Latino, and 35.8% were Black, Havers, and colleagues. In addition, 70.6% had one or more underlying health conditions, including obesity (35.8%), asthma (30.9%), and neurological disorders (14.2%).
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