A new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on coronavirus cases in the United States shows that people in their 20s, 30s and 40s account for a significant number of hospitalizations.
The report, published this Thursday, showed that the virus is more deadly for people aged over 65 and with preconditions, as specialists and health officials have been repeating.
But lo and behold, in nearly 500 hospitalized coronavirus positive cases, 20% were people aged 20 to 44. And adults aged 45 to 54 made up another 18%.
Sally Alrabaa, an infectious disease specialist at the University of South Florida (USF) School of Medicine, said that we all need to be very careful. Even young people can get coronavirus pneumonia.
“This is a new virus and we are trying to understand its behavior,” she said. “We really should be open, expecting surprises. We don’t know what kind of pattern is going to follow.”
She said that as people age, they may notice more severe symptoms, but that doesn’t mean that the virus cannot affect anyone, regardless of their age. “Young people,” she emphasized, “should not take risks. No one can predict what will happen if they catch it,” she said.
In Florida, people aged 20 to 39 account for about 25% of all positive cases.
Governor Ron DeSantis said this Thursday that according to what has been seen in Europe, a relatively healthy young adult could end up being hospitalized.
“I want to tell young people that this virus can kick their butts,” he concluded.
