Dear Young People: Coronavirus Can Make You Very Sick

You are our future…please be careful

It is true that the bulk of the mortality from coronavirus has been those who are older adults and those with underlying chronic medical conditions. Unfortunately, that has led to a sense of complacency among some who are younger, a sense that they cannot get sick from this disease.

This is absolutely not true.

The CDC has published data on cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. There have been plenty of young people that have gotten sick…very sick:

Among 2,449 patients with known age, 6% were aged ≥85, 25% were aged 65-84 years, 18% each were aged 55-64 years and 45-54 years, and 29% were aged 20-44 years. Only 5% of cases occurred in persons aged 0-19 years.

Among 508 (12%) patients known to have been hospitalized, 9% were aged ≥85 years, 26% were aged 65-84 years, 17% were aged 55-64 years, 18% were 45-54 years, and 20% were aged 20-44 years. Less than 1% of hospitalizations were among persons aged ≤19 years. The percentage of persons hospitalized increased with age, from 2% – 3% among persons aged ≤9 years, to ≥31% among adults aged ≥85 years.

Among 121 patients known to have been admitted to an ICU, 7% of cases were reported among adults ≥85 years, 46% among adults aged…