COVID-19 patients are younger and fitter, with American adults under age 50 accounting for 41 percent of COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to COVID-Net data.
At the start of 2021, people 65 and older made up 53 percent of COVID-19-related hospitalizations, and people 18-49 made up 20.5 percent, according to COVID-Net, a CDC surveillance system that draws data from numerous states, representing about 10 percent of the population.
As of July 24, the day with the most recent data available, those numbers shifted, with Americans older than 65 now making up 26 percent of COVID-19-related hospitalizations and people 18-49 making up 41 percent of hospitalizations.
Some experts have credited the demographic change to higher vaccination levels among older Americans.