COVID-19 hospitalizations for Americans in their 30s hit record high

COVID-19-related hospitalizations for people in their 30s have reached an all-time high in the United States according to the latest evidence that the dangerous delta variant of the disease poses daunting risks for younger age groups.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 170,852 hospital admissions of people aged 30 to 39 from early August 2020 to last Wednesday. The number of daily admissions, based on a seven-day average, fell from 908 the week starting July 29 to 1,113 the week starting August 5. That’s a 22.6% rebound – and continues to rise.

Hospitalizations for children with COVID also hit an all-time high with 1,902 in hospitals across the country on Saturday, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, Reuters reported. Children currently account for about 2.4% of all COVID-related hospitalizations in the United States

Not only are more children affected by this wave of the disease, but they are showing more severe symptoms, according to several reports. Children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccinations, making them more vulnerable to the disease.

“This is not last year’s COVID. This one is worse and our children will be the most affected,” said Sally Goza, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Despite the terrifying new risk to children, a number of Republican governors and state legislatures are banning mask mandates in schools and refusing to promote vaccinations to the adults around them.

The clearly sensitive new age groups represent a major change from the first wave of the pandemic, when older people were by far the hardest hit by COVID. It may have given people in their 30s a false sense of security and a relaxed attitude about safety precautions like wearing masks and maintaining social distancing.

The delta variant “likes social mobility,” Dr. James Fiorica, chief medical officer of the Sarasota Memorial Health Care System in Florida, told The Wall Street Journal. “An unvaccinated 30-year-old can be a perfect carrier. “

Younger age groups also have lower vaccination rates. According to CDC statistics, just under half (49.9%) of 20- to 39-year-olds have been fully immunized. This is 59.1% for 40-year-olds, 68.4% for 50 to 64-year-olds, 82.6% for 65 to 74-year-olds and 78.3% for 75-year-olds and over.

States with low vaccination rates have been particularly affected by the current wave. A fifth of all COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide are in Florida, where the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients hit a new high of 16,100 on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. More than 90% of the state’s intensive care beds are full, according to the HHS.

New infections in the country exceed 123,000 every day, based on an average of seven days, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The seven-day average of daily COVID-19 deaths in the United States reached 645 on Friday, almost doubling in two weeks to the highest level since May, Bloomberg reported.