Young People Can Get Serious Complications From COVID-19
By now, we have all heard this from at least one person in our life: “I am not afraid of contracting COVID-19 because I am young.” This is the explanation given by spring beach parties, travelers taking advantage of cheap deals, or young professionals crowding into bars.
But being young and healthy is not a free pass from prison. Young and healthy people can catch the coronavirus, and when they do, they could also end up in the hospital, more often than experts initially expected.
According to an early analysis released by the CDC on March 18, adults between the ages of 20 and 54 made up 38% of the 508 known hospital admissions. Of the confirmed deaths, 20% are in people between the ages of 20 and 64. Old age can put a person at higher risk, but that doesn’t mean everyone else will be okay.
COVID-19 is serious. In mild to moderate cases, symptoms range from cold symptoms to pneumonia that does not require oxygen. This is the best scenario. In the worst case, you will need to go to the hospital. So far in the US, one in eight confirmed cases requires hospitalization.
Remember how hard it was to find toilet paper or bottled water? Remember how we went to seven different stores and cursed the storekeepers who bought up all the supplies? Remember the collective anger at the guy who bought 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer?
What if someone you love gets sick with COVID-19 and instead of toilet paper needs a ventilator to breathe? If infection rates remain at current levels, we are looking towards a future that will not have enough hospital beds or ventilators for everyone who needs them.
This is why we need to wash our hands. This is why we need to disinfect our homes. This is why we must practice social distancing. The slowdown in the spread of COVID-19 means hospitals mean we have the necessary infrastructure, including enough doctors, nurses and medicines to treat critically ill patients.