Coronavirus hospitalizations among those under 50 hits new high

COVID-19 hospitalizations among patients under the age of 50 have hit a new high in the U.S., The Guardian reported on Thursday.

According to the latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, the groups with the largest increases in coronavirus hospitalizations are patients in their 30s and those younger than 18.

The CDC also said that hospitalizations could still reach new highs in the coming weeks if the recent surge driven by the highly contagious delta variant isn’t curbed. 

Hospitals across the nation have seen more than 75,000 patients being admitted for COVID-19 complications in the last week, which is still below record numbers from the winter. 

States including Florida, Hawaii, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oregon, however, have recently set new records for coronavirus-related hospitalizations, The Guardian reported.  

The latest spike has forced hospitals to put COVID-19 patients, even some who are critically ill, in planes, helicopters, parking garages and other makeshift locations due to overcapacity.  

“Just imagine not having the support of your family near, to have that kind of anxiety if you have someone grow acutely ill,” CoxHealth CEO Steve Edwards told The Guardian. 

Seventy-two percent of eligible Americans have gotten at least one vaccine shot, with 61 percent being fully vaccinated, according to the CDC data.