We now have the beginning of the COVID-19 vaccines session. First a review of the epidemiology of COVID-19 hospitalizations:
www.cdc.gov/vaccines...
Age continues to be a key risk factor for hospitalization, though rates have declined markedly over time.
Importantly, children <6 months old have the second highest hospitalization rate by age second to those over 75, underscoring the importance of immunization in pregnancy. There are also racial disparities in hospitalization rates.
Hospitalizations for children are also of concern. While the risk is higher for those with comorbidities, 50% of COVID-19 hospitalized children have no comorbidities. Neurologic conditions are particularly important risk factors.
Among adults, hospitalizations increase monotonically with age. Residents of long-term care facility appear to be at higher risk. Uptake of vaccines in adults is better than in kids, but still lags behind what would be desired.
These data are from COVID-NET which appears to be representative for most comorbidities in the US among adults; hospitalization risk is greatly heightened by diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and those with a history of stroke.
In sum: hospitalizations from COVID-19 are still a significant public health issue. Uptake of vaccines is very low among those who are hospitalized. Age is still the biggest risk factor for hospitalization among adults. Half of hospitalized kids have no comorbidities.
