Latest pandemic development: Young people accounting for more infections

[mystery-ak]

Latest pandemic development: Young people accounting for more infections
by Cassidy Morrison, Healthcare Reporter |
 | June 23, 2020 06:17 PM


Young people in hard-hit states are increasingly testing positive for the coronavirus, a new development in the pandemic with implications that public health officials do not yet fully understand.

“Demographically, you're looking at a large number of younger people who are testing positive for COVID-19,” said Dr. Angela Clendenin, an epidemiology professor at Texas A&M University. “And they're going out and doing their grocery shopping and hanging out with friends because they really are unaware of the fact that there they are possible transmitters of COVID-19.”

The number of cases in Texas has surpassed 120,370. Last week, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott attributed the daily increase in new cases to young people going to “bar-type settings,” adding Monday that the fierce viral spread in Texas is “unacceptable” and “must be corralled.”

Though the younger population usually experiences more mild COVID-19 infection, the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said Tuesday that young people are not immune to severe forms of the disease.

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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/latest-pandemic-development-young-people-accounting-for-more-infections

[jmyrlefuller]

“And they're going out and doing their grocery shopping and hanging out with friends because they really are unaware of the fact that there they are possible transmitters of COVID-19.”

No, it's because they're socially starved and burnt out from a lockdown that didn't work!

[libertybele]

No, it's because they're socially starved and burnt out from a lockdown that didn't work!

That and the fact that when this pandemic first hit the U.S. we were told that the elderly were the ones affected and that it wasn't affecting the younger people ... once again ... the information turns out to be false.

It seems we have continuously received conflicting information about this virus; how it's spread, the age it affects, blood type, if you can get it from surfaces, hydroxychlorinique, affect of heat and humidity, incubation period, wearing masks, etc.

[jmyrlefuller]

That and the fact that when this pandemic first hit the U.S. we were told that the elderly were the ones affected and that it wasn't affecting the younger people ... once again ... the information turns out to be false.

It seems we have continuously received conflicting information about this virus; how it's spread, the age it affects, blood type, if you can get it from surfaces, hydroxychlorinique, affect of heat and humidity, incubation period, wearing masks, etc.

Indeed. It seems politicians can and will say anything if it fits their narrative—and this is most glaring in how they handled the riots/protests earlier this month. Now we're seeing that they did indeed spread the virus in places like Houston and Los Angeles.

Migrant workers, also more likely to be under 40 just because of the physical demands of the job, are among the hardest hit in this wave. Plus, you consider that today's millennials and Generation Z are less likely to have spouses or families, meaning they're more likely to have had to wait out the lockdowns alone (especially if they were ripped away from college roommates/classmates/etc.). So when things started loosening up, they were more desperate to get back to socializing, and that meant bars. It's a national disgrace that nobody has figured out a way to allow people to socialize in person, the way it needs to be done for optimal health, without putting themselves in danger.

[The_Reader_David]

Why is it that the self-proclaimed smart people are surprised by people in general acting rationally?

We have the demographics on lethality, and if you're under 30, your chances of dying from COVID-19 are about the same as your chances of dying from the seasonal flu.  Those of us in age ranges where the case fatality rate is upward of 3% are going to be cautious, while the young, quite rationally, will go back to their lives as usual given the chance, are doing so, and thus catching the disease, getting sick for a couple of weeks, then going back to their lives as usual after they recover, the same as they would for the flu.

[libertybele]

Why is it that the self-proclaimed smart people are surprised by people in general acting rationally?

We have the demographics on lethality, and if you're under 30, your chances of dying from COVID-19 are about the same as your chances of dying from the seasonal flu.  Those of us in age ranges where the case fatality rate is upward of 3% are going to be cautious, while the young, quite rationally, will go back to their lives as usual given the chance, are doing so, and thus catching the disease, getting sick for a couple of weeks, then going back to their lives as usual after they recover, the same as they would for the flu.

IMHO with over 30 strains of this virus and it being so new, stats change very rapidly.  Children are also being affect by COVID; Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), though most get better with medical care. There are children dying from this virus though.  In my county we have had 2 recent deaths from COVID -- one 17 and one 19.  Yes, the fatality rate so far in younger people is less than in the older age brackets, (as with the flu and many other illnesses) but also now there are reports of 30-40 year olds becoming more infected.  There are lots of variables and I'm sure as time goes on we'll learn even more or disprove what we were once told.

Reports indicate so far that this is much different than the flu and shouldn't be compared to the flu. As one example;  it can damage certain organs of the body permanently or for longer periods of time. Whereas the flu, people usually recover without significant damage to organs.

Do the best you can; practice smart social distancing, assess your vulnerability and protect your self, wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your face when you are out in public and use hand sanitizer with at least 62% alcohol.