The highly contagious delta variant has driven hospitalizations among Texans under the age of 50 past last winter's peak, spiking 14 percentage points, according to data released Friday by the Texas Department of State Health Services, The Texas Tribune reports.
As of Aug. 22, adults ages 30 to 49 account for about 29% of coronavirus hospitalizations in the state, compared with 15% on Jan. 11.
Additionally, hospital admissions among adults ages 18 to 29 increased from 5% to just 7%, while the percentage of children admitted increased by 1 percentage point.
''We are seeing certainly younger patients hospitalized and younger patients on ventilators where we haven't seen that before,'' Dr. Ron Cook, chief health officer at the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, told the news outlet.
People who are infected with the highly contagious delta variant are twice as likely to be hospitalized as those who are infected with the alpha variant, according to a large new British study.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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