Thread by @RuminatorDan

COVID HOSPITALISATIONS IN THE YOUING
Repeated claims recently suggest more young people are becoming hospitalised with Covid than was the case in Jan 2021. However England's empirical data show otherwise: new hospitalisations in the young reached similar levels in July & Jan.
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The BBC, for example, reported recently that, in England, “levels of young adults being admitted to hospital was four times higher than the peak last winter.”
Without additional explanation, this is likely to be misinterpreted by many people.
bbc.co.uk/news/health-58…
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ONS Covid Insights, 6 Aug '21, shows charts of new hospital admissions by age, pointing out that "Hospital admission rates in those aged under 25 years were at similar level to rates during the peak in January 2021".
ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…
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Data show that hospital admissions 'with Coronavirus' in the young did reach similar levels in July to those in the January 2021 peak. They remain, however - & especially in children - far lower than in older age groups; so much so that one has to zoom in to see them.
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What was different in July was that new hospitalisations in older people were far lower than in January.
Admissions in the young were not higher in absolute terms than they were in January. They were higher only as a % of a far lower total. Important to understand that.
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The risk of hospitalisation with Covid varies enormously with age. Charts here show weekly rates per 100,000 people for England. Again, the risk to young people (& especially children) is extremely low; so much so that, as before, one has zoom in to see it.
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While no one suggests that the risk of hospitalisation with Covid is zero, England data (as at w/e 1 Aug 2021) show that:
1) The risk to young people was not higher in July than in the January 2021 peak.
2) The risk to young people - & particularly children - remains very low.
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[Analysis, opinions & errors my own.]
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