CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on June 4 urged parents to vaccinate their eligible children against SARS-CoV-2 and follow prevention measures for the disease, citing new data from a CDC study showing increased hospitalization rates in spring 2021 for adolescents with COVID-19. Researchers used data from the Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network to examine demographic and clinical characteristics and hospitalization rates of adolescents aged 12-17 years who were admitted to hospitals between March 1, 2020 and April 24, 2021. Among 204 adolescents who were likely hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 during January 1-March 31, 2021, 31.4% were admitted to an intensive care unit, and 4.9% required invasive mechanical ventilation. There were no COVID-19-associated deaths. Of the 204 adolescents, 52% were female, 31% were Latino, and 36% were Black. About 70% of the 204 adolescents had at least one underlying medical condition, with the most common being obesity. But nearly 30% had no underlying condition, reinforcing that even healthy adolescents are at risk of severe COVID-19-related disease. The cumulative COVID-19 hospitalization rates for the adolescents from October 1, 2020, through April 24, 2021, were 2.5 to 3 times higher than recent seasonal influenza-associated hospitalization rates. The FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research on June 10 will convene a virtual meeting of the Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee to discuss the data needed to support an Emergency Use Authorization and Biologics License Application for SARS-CoV-2 vaccines intended for use in children younger than 12 years old. The committee will not discuss individual products during this meeting.
