Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams on Thursday warned young people that they are not immune to the worse consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Just because you’re young doesn’t mean you’re spared from the effects of the coronavirus,” Adams told Cheddar.
New data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that nearly 40 percent of the 508 patients hospitalized due to the coronavirus were between the ages of 20 and 54.
About half of that number was made up of adults ages 20 to 44, encompassing the entire millennial generation.
While older adults still make up most of the hospitalizations, as well as the vast majority of lethal cases, Adams said the new information should give young people pause.
“We need people to understand that you can still get sick, you can still end up in the ICU, you still could, unfortunately, possibly die,” Adams said.
He also emphasized that young people also need to keep in mind that they present a risk to their more vulnerable family members and members of the community.
“But just as importantly, you could also be the one who takes it to your grandmother or your grandfather, and it’s why we’re aggressively leaning into these mitigation efforts and asking people to stay home,” he said.
As for reports of college students swarming Florida beaches for spring break or lining up outside of bars for St. Patrick’s Day, Adams sees them as the exception rather than the rule.
“When you look at Generation Z and millennials, I think the majority of them are doing the right thing and want to do the right thing,” he said.
