Hospitalization of Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–April 24, 2021

Havers, Fiona P.; Whitaker, Michael; Self, Julie L.; Chai, Shua J.; Kirley, Pam Daily; Alden, Nisha B.; Kawasaki, Breanna; Meek, James; Yousey-Hindes, Kimberly; Anderson, Evan J.; Openo, Kyle P.; Weigel, Andrew; Teno, Kenzie; Monroe, Maya L.; Ryan, Patricia A.; Reeg, Libby; Kohrman, Alexander; Lynfield, Ruth; Como-Sabetti, Kathryn; Poblete, Mayvilynne; McMullen, Chelsea; Muse, Alison; Spina, Nancy; Bennett, Nancy M.; Gaitán, Maria; Billing, Laurie M.; Shiltz, Jess; Sutton, Melissa; Abdullah, Nasreen; Schaffner, William; Talbot, H. Keipp; Crossland, Melanie; George, Andrea; Patel, Kadam; Pham, Huong; Milucky, Jennifer; Anglin, Onika; Ujamaa, Dawud; Hall, Aron J.; Garg, Shikha; Taylor, Christopher A.; Rothrock, Gretchen; Reingold, Arthur; Tsegaye, Millen; McLafferty, Sarah; Maslar, Amber; Clogher, Paula; Misiorski, Adam; Parisi, Christina; Correa, Maria; Carter, Tessa; Lyons, Carol; Kim, Daewi; Brar, Gaggan; Fawcett, Emily; Roebling, Allison; Ward, Katelyn; Manning, Jana; Joseph, Asmith; Surell, Chandler; Pizarro, Daniel; Williams, Jeremiah; Ceaser, Rayna; Lehman, Stephanie; Eisenstein, Taylor; Chambers, Gracie; Kallas, Grayson; Russell, Lauren; Segler, Suzanne; Blythe, David; Brooks, Alicia; Bye, Erica; Danila, Richard; Cline, Cory; Ropp, Susan; Smelser, Chad; Sosin, Daniel; Torres, Salina; Angeles, Kathy; Christian, Melissa; Eisenberg, Nancy; Flores, Kristina; Habrun, Caroline; Hancock, Emily; Khanlian, Sarah; Novi, Meaghan; Phipps, Erin; Rudin, Dominic; Salazar-Sanchez, Yadira; Segall, Judith; Davis, Sarah Shrum; Barney, Grant; Felsen, Christina; Bushey, Sophrena; Popham, Kevin; Cafferky, Virginia; Long, Christine; Kurtz, RaeAnne; West, Nicole; Owusu-Dommey, Ama; McArdle, Breanna; Youngers, Emily; Seeley, Kylie; Markus, Tiffanie; Carter, Amanda; Price, Andrea; Haraghey, Andrew; Swain, Ashley; Shaw, Caitlin; Buchta, Ian; Ortega, Jake; McCullough, Laine; Chatelain, Ryan; Riedesel, Tyler

Most COVID-19-associated hospitalizations occur in older adults, but severe disease that requires hospitalization occurs in all age groups, including adolescents aged 12-17 years (1). On May 10, 2021, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the Emergency Use Authorization for Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include persons aged 12-15 years, and CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommended it for this age group on May 12, 2021.* Before that time, COVID-19 vaccines had been available only to persons aged ≥16 years. Understanding and describing the epidemiology of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations in adolescents and comparing it with adolescent hospitalizations associated with other vaccine-preventable respiratory viruses, such as influenza, offers evidence of the benefits of expanding the recommended age range for vaccination and provides a baseline and context from which to assess vaccination impact. Using the Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET), CDC examined COVID-19-associated hospitalizations among adolescents aged 12-17 years, including demographic and clinical characteristics of adolescents admitted during January 1-March 31, 2021, and hospitalization rates (hospitalizations per 100,000 persons) among adolescents during March 1, 2020-April 24, 2021. Among 204 adolescents who were likely hospitalized primarily for COVID-19 during January 1-March 31, 2021, 31.4% were admitted to an intensive care unit (ICU), and 4.9% required invasive mechanical ventilation; there were no associated deaths. During March 1, 2020-April 24, 2021, weekly adolescent hospitalization rates peaked at 2.1 per 100,000 in early January 2021, declined to 0.6 in mid-March, and then rose to 1.3 in April. Cumulative COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates during October 1, 2020-April 24, 2021, were 2.5-3.0 times higher than were influenza-associated hospitalization rates from three recent influenza seasons (2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20) obtained from the Influenza Hospitalization Surveillance Network (FluSurv-NET). Recent increased COVID-19-associated hospitalization rates in March and April 2021 and the potential for severe disease in adolescents reinforce the importance of continued COVID-19 prevention measures, including vaccination and correct and consistent wearing of masks by persons not yet fully vaccinated or when required by laws, rules, or regulations.†.