CDC Director “Very Worried” About Spike In Teen Hospitalizations Due To Covid

The director of the CDC recommended parents vaccinate their children against Covid-19 on Friday, noting an increase in the number of teen hospitalizations due to covid in March and April.

“I am profoundly concerned by the number of hospitalized teenagers and disappointed to see the number of teenagers who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical breathing,” said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky in a statement accompanying a new report on teen hospitalizations.

Walensky urged parents to discuss the necessity of continuing to wear masks with their children and to “push them to become vaccinated.” Based on the findings of clinical trials, she said the CDC has approved the Pfizer vaccine for persons aged 12 and up.

Adults make up the bulk of those admitted to hospitals with Covid-19, however, teenagers aged 12 to 17 can also develop severe symptoms.

CDC researchers discovered that almost one-third of adolescents hospitalized with Covid-19 required admission to an intensive care unit, and 5% required invasive mechanical ventilation in the first three months of the year.

According to data gathered by the CDC, no minors in the United States died of Covid-19 between January 1 and March 31.

In a statement, Walensky added, “Much of this misery may be avoided.”

“Vaccination is the only way to avoid a pandemic. I continue to see encouraging signals in CDC statistics that the epidemic in our nation is nearing an end; but, we must all do our bit and get vaccinated in order to cross the finish line” she continued.