Hospitals are seeing more young adults with severe Covid symptoms, CDC says

KEY POINTS

• CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said hospitals are seeing more and more younger adults with severe Covid-19.
• "Data suggests this is all happening as we are seeing increasing prevalence of variants, with 52 jurisdictions now reporting cases of variants of concern," Walensky said.
• The B.1.1.7 variant has since spread and now accounts for more than 16,000 cases across 52 jurisdictions in the country.

People walk along Ocean Drive on March 21, 2021 in Miami Beach, Florida. College students have arrived in the South Florida area for the annual spring break ritual, prompting city officials to impose an 8pm to 6am curfew as the coronavirus pandemic continues.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Hospitals are seeing more and more younger adults in their 30s and 40s admitted with severe cases of Covid-19, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.

"Data suggests this is all happening as we are seeing increasing prevalence of variants, with 52 jurisdictions now reporting cases of variants of concern," Walensky said at a press briefing on the pandemic.

Scientists say new variants of the coronavirus are more transmittable and some of them may be more lethal as well, resulting in more severe cases.

The highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant from the United Kingdom has become the dominant strain circulating in the United States, Walensky said.

Walensky previously warned that traveling for spring break could lead to another rise in cases, especially in Florida where the variant was rapidly spreading.

"I'm pleading with you, for the sake of our nation's health," Walensky said at a briefing last month. "Cases climbed last spring, they climbed again in the summer, they will climb now if we stop taking precautions when we continue to get more and more people vaccinated."

The B.1.1.7 variant has since spread and now accounts for more than 16,000 cases across 52 jurisdictions in the country. The variant is about 50% more transmissible than the original wild strain of the coronavirus.