A new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates the rate of coronavirus cases is growing by 500 almost daily and those under 50 years old should still be concerned about becoming seriously ill from the coronavirus, despite a majority of deaths in China being patients older than 65 years old.
The report looked at data from cases reported to the CDC in 49 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories from Feb. 12 through March 16.
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According to the report, COVID-19 cases in the U.S. indicate that fatality was still highest in persons older than 85, followed by ages 65–84, 55-64 and lastly, those between 20–54 years old. There have not been any reported fatalities among people 19 or younger in the U.S.
A breakdown of all known cases and deaths by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed 14.8% of patients 80 years and older who were infected died as a result. The mortality rate for younger patients in China was much lower.
However, the numbers show the rate of U.S. coronavirus cases requiring hospitalization was more widespread, regardless of age.
On Wednesday, Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the president’s coronavirus task force, said that health officials are receiving new data out of France and Italy indicating that millennials are being more impacted than previously thought.
Between 14.3 and 20.8% of patients ages 20-44 required hospitalization and 2 to 4% were admitted into intensive care units, according to the CDC. For the next age group, between 44 and 53 years old, between 21 and 28% of patients were hospitalized and up to 10% were in the ICU.
It’s also important to note that the CDC based this report on incomplete numbers because its a preliminary report. The authors wrote they were unable to obtain ages for some patients and information about preexisting health conditions.
“Because of these missing data, the percentages of hospitalizations, ICU admissions and deaths were estimated as a range,” according to the report.
Another important takeaway from the U.S. report is the sharp rise in cases since February, including a spike from 500 cases to more than 1,000 in about 48 hours.
“As of March 16, a total of 4,226 COVID-19 cases had been reported in the United States, with reports increasing to 500 or more cases per day beginning March 14,” the report states.
Researchers with the University of Oxford Global Change Data Lab said it’s important not only to look at the death rates from an illness but how quickly the cases doubled.
For example, it took 38 days in China for the cases to double, while it took two days in the U.S. for COVID-19 cases to double, according to data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
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