Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As More Teens Hospitalized, CDC Urges Parents To Get Their Kids A Covid Shot
CBS News: CDC Says Hospitalizations Are Rising In Teens With COVID-19
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is urging parents to get their teenagers vaccinated against COVID-19 after an alarming spike in hospitalizations among young coronavirus patients. About 24% of kids ages 12 to 17 have received at least one dose. Before most were eligible for the vaccine, about one-third of teens who were admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 wound up in the intensive care unit, according to the CDC. Nearly 5% of those cases were put on respirators. None of the patients died. CDC Director Rochelle Walenksy said she is "deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalized adolescents." (Lenghi, 6/5)
Axios: CDC Head Urges Parents To Get Their Teens Vaccinated Against COVID-19
Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged parents on Friday to get their kids 12 years and older vaccinated against COVID-19. "I am deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation," Walensky said in a statement. (Knutson, 6/4)
The Washington Post: CDC Director Urges Parents To Vaccinate Teens, Pointing To Increase In Severe Cases
Researchers suggest that the increased hospitalization among adolescents in March and April may be related to several factors, including more transmissible and potentially more dangerous virus variants; larger numbers of youths returning to school; and changes in physical distancing, mask-wearing and other prevention behaviors. (Sun, 6/4)
USA Today: COVID Vaccine: CDC Report Finds Teen Hospitalization Rates On The Rise
About 70% of hospitalized adolescents had one or more underlying medical conditions, with the most common being obesity, chronic lung disease including asthma and neurological disorders. But Dr. Henry Bernstein, pediatrician at Cohen Children’s Medical Center in New Hyde Park, New York, said it’s important to note that nearly 30% of hospitalized adolescents were “perfectly healthy.” (Rodriguez, 6/4)
In related news —
Fox News: Teens’ Coronavirus Hospitalization Rates 3 Times Higher Than Flu: CDC Study
While teens appear to face a low risk of hospitalization due to COVID-19, a study suggests the rate of hospital visits due to the virus is actually three times greater compared to flu-related hospitalizations. Findings out Friday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) stemmed from FluSurv-NET data, a surveillance system across 13 states, to compare COVID-19 and flu-related hospitalizations among kids aged 12-17 from October to April, or most of the typical flu season. Rates were compared across three flu seasons starting in 2017. (Rivas, 6/5)
