As the Covid vaccination is progressing steadily in the United States, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has urged teenagers to get the vaccination to stay away from the pandemic. The comments from the CDC director come at a time when the number of adolescent people who get hospitalized with the infection has started showing signs of increase over the past few months.
Covid infection among teenagers can be prevented
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in a recent statement, revealed that coronavirus infection among teenagers can be prevented to a great extent if young people receive the Covid vaccination.
"I am deeply concerned by the numbers of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation. Much of this suffering can be prevented," said Walensky in the statement.
Recently, the federal health agency had released a report which stated that coronavirus infection among kids ages 12 to 17 surged between March and April. Among 204 kids who were hospitalized between January 01 and March 31, a third needed to be admitted to the intensive care unit, while five percent required mechanical ventilation. These findings add up to the fact that coronavirus could turn critical among people irrespective of the age group.
Should fully-vaccinated people get tested for Covid?
In the meantime, the CDC has released new guidelines for coronavirus testing. In the guidelines, CDC notes that fully vaccinated people need not get tested for Covid infection even if they are exposed to someone who is sick. The guidelines also revealed that people who are fully vaccinated are at very low risk of developing serious illness due to coronavirus infection.
However, if a fully vaccinated person develops symptoms like cough, fever, severe throat pain, and headache, it is advisable to carry out a Covid test.
