'It's a pandemic of the young now': COVID-19 hospitalization rates for adults in their 30s hit record highs amid Delta variant surge

COVID-19 hospitalization rates for adults in their 30s have hit record highs amid the surge of the Delta variant as experts worry it has become a 'pandemic of the young.'

Dr. James Lawler, co-director of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, addressed the alarming hospitalization rate in a weekly update on Tuesday.

'All of these younger age groups that we previously thought were relatively spared from severe outcomes from COVID up to 50 years, those hospital admission rates are all moving upwards at a dizzying pace unfortunately,' Dr. Lawler said.

'So this is not only the pandemic of the unvaccinated in the U.S., it's a pandemic of the young now.'

He added: 'It is not just a huge proportion of patients admitted to the ICU with COVID, it is also a much younger demographic than we've seen previously.'

'And again, I think this is another myth that young people don't get very sick. And that is clearly not the case, particularly with Delta wave.'

COVID-19 hospitalization rates for adults in their 30s have hit record highs amid the surge of the Delta variant as experts worry it has become a 'pandemic of the young'. Pictured: CDC data on hospitalization rates for adults aged 30-39

New COVID-19 hospital admissions for patients in their 30s reached an average of 1,113 per day for the week that ended Wednesday, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows.

That average daily hospitalization rate had jumped 22.6 percent from 908 in the previous seven days, according to the CDC.

Dr. James Lawler, co-director of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, addressed the alarming hospitalization rate

The data shows that thirtysomethings made up 170,852 out of more than 2.5 million new hospital admissions for COVID-19 since August 2020. 

The data shows that seven-day average for new hospitalizations among those aged 18 to 29 reached 694 on Wednesday, up 20.7 percent from 575 average the week prior. There have been 124,633 people aged 18 to 29 hospitalized since August.   

The average daily hospitalization rate for children under 17 also shot up a shocking 31.2 percent, from 201 to 263, the CDC data shows. There have been 47,172 hospitalizations of minor children from COVID-19 since last August.

Children under age 12 remain ineligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, while vaccination rates for young adults under 40 continue to lag.

CDC vaccination data trends show that only 49.6 percent of adults aged 25 to 39 are considered fully vaccinated - while 45.1 percent of adults aged 18 to 24 are fully vaccinated.

The United States has fully vaccinated 61.6 percent of all adults over the age of 18, or about 159,026,262 people. The demographic driving vaccination rates are seniors 65 and older, of which 80.7 percent are vaccinated after receiving first access. 

Data from the CDC shows the number of hospitalizations for children under 17 years old

Data from the CDC shows the number of hospitalizations for adults aged 18-29

A map shows the total number of coronavirus infections and deaths in the United States

A graph shows the number of new coronavirus deaths per day since the start of the pandemic

A graph shows the number of new coronavirus infections per day since the start of the pandemic

A graph shows the total number of coronavirus infections compared to the number of deaths

Experts have noted that older demographics are at higher risk of death and developing severe COVID-19 infections, but the new numbers compared to vaccination rates are a stark warning on the rise of the Delta variant.

The Delta variant - which can be transmitted more easily than the Alpha variant - has proven that it can cause hospitalization rates to increase among the young and healthy, even as vaccination rates rise. 

Dr. James Fiorica, chief medical officer of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System in Florida, told the Wall Street Journal that the Delta variant 'loves social mobility.'

'An unvaccinated 30-year-old can be a perfect carrier,' Fiorica said. 

He told the outlet that thirtysomethings are typically socially active at work and out of the office - with young families, making them more prone to the exposure and spreading of the virus.

He added: 'They are people that shouldn't be dying.'