United States: The cases of COVID-19 have been witnessing a continuous rise in the United States, which is leading to an increase in hospitalization. The rate of COVID-19 hospitalization has witnessed a huge increase by the end of the last week of November when compared to the four weeks.
According to the statistics shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the cases increased to 19,444 in the last week of November as compared to just 15,006 in the first four weeks. The concern related to the increased hospitalization has been seen among health experts.
The major number of cases have been reported among senior citizens, middle-aged adults and the younger population (below age 4). This revealed that the virus has been majorly affecting the oldest and the youngest populations of the United States.
Examining COVID-19 statistics among seniors
As of the data shared by the CDC, the weekly rate of hospitalization is the highest among the older population of the United States. The official figure outlined that the weekly hospitalization rate among seniors is 13.5 percent per 100,000.
What is the possible reason behind it?
According to the report published by ABC News, health experts have cited various possible reasons behind the surge in cases among the age group of 65 and above. However, the experts have underlined that people of this age group are at greater risk and the pre-existing diseases make the case more vulnerable.
Examining COVID-19 data among middle-aged Americans
The second highest number of COVID-19-related cases of hospitalization has been recorded among the population, which falls between the age group of 50 and 64 years. The rate was high, up to 2.7 percent per 100,000 people.
The reason behind the surge in cases
According to the experts, the middle-aged population of the United States has not been getting proper treatments – such as Paxlovid, said Dr Peter Chin-Hong, while elaborating on the possible reason behind the high number of hospitalizations. Chin-Hong is an infectious disease expert and a professor of medicine at the University of California.
Examining COVID-19 data among the kids
The third highest COVID-19-related hospitalization rate has been reported among the younger population – from infants to four-year-old children. According to the CDC, around 1.6 percent of children per 100,000 population are hospitalized because of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
However, parents and guardians can take a sigh of relief as health experts have mentioned that children will not fall severely ill or die due to COVID-19 as compared to adults. Additionally, it is to be noted that medical studies have suggested that vaccination has reduced the hospitalization rate among children.
Vaccination rate among the different age groups!
While emphasizing the importance of vaccination among all the vulnerable age groups, Dr William Schaffner – a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Centre, stated that parents must not believe that if a child is healthy, then he/she does not need vaccination.
Furthermore, concerns were raised by Chin-Hong, who underscored that parents are open to shots against influenza as compared to COVID-19. While showing the official vaccination rate, he noted that as of mid-November, as many as 38.2 percent of children [aged between six (6) months to seventeen (17) years] had got a jab against influenza; however, the rate is just at 6.9 percent in case of COVID-19 jab.
Paxlovid: A promising and effective weapon against COVID-19 infection
Health experts have suggested that Paxlovid is the best treatment for high-risk patients. According to the reports by ABC News, Chin-Hong mentioned, “It represents a failure of our system to intervene and provide early therapy. You can’t really just blame vaccinations because there’s a get out of jail card, which is Paxlovid and even remdesivir.”
However, certain concerns were raised by Chin-Hong about the less use of the drug. He mentioned that people are not willing to take drugs and doctors are also not willing to prescribe them due to concerns related to their interaction with other drugs.
Furthermore, Chin-Hong raised an additional concern. He mentioned that the major concern is who will bear the cost of the drug. According to the health authorities, the drug is given for free for those on Medicare or Medicaid through 2024. However, people with private insurance might need to pay some money for the drug because the government won’t be buying and giving it out anymore.
Winter warning: Experts suggest you brace yourself for a surge in hospitalizations!
The experts have stated that they expect COVID-19-related cases to witness a surge during the cold weather. The reasons behind the surge are people staying indoors, heat turned up, closed windows and gatherings during the hospital season.
These all are “ideal conditions for respiratory viruses to spread,” said Dr John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and chief innovation officer at Boston Children’s Hospital, as per the reports ABC News.
Therefore, the health experts have expressed that the population – without vaccination, must take COVID-19 jabs until it is too late to get a shot.