COVID-19 hospitalizations in teens rare, no associated deaths occurred during CDC study

A small study suggests teens not yet vaccinated against COVID-19 face a low risk of hospitalization due to the virus. What’s more, the latest report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found zero deaths in a group of unvaccinated teens under study.

Findings released Friday in the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) drew data from COVID-NET, a surveillance system accounting for about 10% of the national population across 14 states, finding that 204 adolescents aged 12-17 were hospitalized primarily for the virus from January to March 31, 2021. Of the total, nearly one-third were sent to an ICU and 5% required mechanical ventilation, however, there were no deaths.

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Another study period dating from March 2020 to April 2021 highlighted the remote risks of hospitalization among teens; the CDC report indicates weekly hospitalization rates hit a high at just 2.1 per 100,000 in January 2021, dropped to 0.6 in March and climbed to 1.3 the following month. Teens’ COVID-19 hospitalization rate was 12.5 times lower when compared with adults over age 18.

Of the 204 patients, 70.6% had at least one underlying medical issue, such as obesity, chronic lung disease and neurologic disorders. Also, about two-thirds of hospitalized teens were Black or Hispanic, reflecting the need for equitable access to now available vaccines, the agency said.

While teens’ COVID-19 hospitalization rates began increasing in March and April, adults over 65 — the group with the most vaccination coverage — saw a stabilized hospitalization rate. Vaccines were not available to teens until May 10, when the FDA expanded Pfizer’s emergency authorization to kids aged 12-15. The CDC attributed the increase to factors like highly transmissible variants, kids heading back to school and differences in mitigation measures like mask wearing and physical distancing.

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The findings uphold evidence that younger populations tend to fare better following coronavirus infection, though serious outcomes do occur, albeit rare. Also, almost 30% of kids under study were otherwise healthy, which according to the CDC, underscores the need for vaccination in this age group.

“Recent increases in COVID-19–associated hospitalization rates and the potential for severe disease requiring ICU admission, including invasive mechanical ventilation, among adolescents indicate an urgent need for vaccination in combination with correct and consistent mask wearing by persons not yet fully vaccinated or when required by laws, rules, or regulations,” CDC researchers wrote.

Ahead of the study’s release, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky noted “troubling data” relating to teens’ COVID-19 hospitalizations and a “concerning” number of teens hospitalized and sent to intensive care.

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“In the month leading up to the recommendations of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines for teens and adolescents 12 and older, CDC observed troubling data regarding the hospitalizations of adolescents with COVID-19,” Walensky said during a White House COVID-19 briefing on Thursday. “More concerning were the number of adolescents admitted to the hospital who required treatment in the intensive care unit with mechanical ventilation. Tomorrow, we will publish a report on this topic with more details in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. And it is these findings within this publication — one that demonstrates the level of severe disease, even among youth, that are preventable, that force us to redouble our motivation to get our adolescents and young adults vaccinated.”

Fox News’ Alexandria Hein contributed to this report.