Health experts are urging teenagers to get vaccinated after a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report shows hospitalizations were up, but still rare for young people in the months before the vaccine was cleared for use among Americans as young as 12 years old. The study showed one in three teens hospitalized ended up in an intensive care unit and could suffer long-term consequences. The study looked at 204 kids ages 12-17 who were hospitalized. No deaths were reported during the study. Many of the teens in the study had underlying conditions.
The CDC and Kanawha-Charleston Health Department maintain that the increased hospitalization rates in the spring and the potential for severe disease shown in the study are another strong argument for getting teens vaccinated.