Most New COVID Cases, Hospitalizations in US Are Among Younger Adults

U.S. Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that hospitalizations and new COVID-19 cases continue to rise, driven by infections in younger adults, who have not yet been vaccinated.

During a White House COVID-19 Response Team virtual news briefing, Walensky noted hospitalizations for COVID-19 rose by seven percent over the past seven days, while new daily infections rose by an average of two percent during the same period. She noted most of those new cases were among adults age 55 and younger, who have not yet been vaccinated. Walensky also noted a decrease in hospitalizations for those age 65 and older, demonstrating the importance of getting vaccinated, since many older Americans are eligible and have received vaccines. To further encourage people to get shots, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, Anthony Fauci, addressed the issue of vaccine hesitancy based on mistrust of how quickly COVID-19 vaccines were made available. Fauci detailed the years of research that went into developing vaccines.