Michigan's latest COVID-19 wave is hitting people in their 30s and 40s especially hard
The COVID-19 pandemic has been tamed in much of the U.S., but not in Michigan. Hospitals are full or filling up across the state, and "unlike previous surges, it now is younger and middle-aged adults — not their parents and grandparents — who are taking up many of Michigan's hospital beds," The New York Times reports. "Michigan hospitals are now admitting about twice as many coronavirus patients in their 30s and 40s as they were during the fall peak, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association."
Michigan has recorded 91,000 new COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, more than California and Texas combined, The Associated Press reports. "Doctors, medical professionals, and public health officials point to a number of factors that explain how the situation has gotten so bad in Michigan," from the high prevalence of the more contagious and deadly B.1.1.7 variant first found in Britain, to widespread abandonment of masks and social distancing — especially in the rural, northern part of the state — after extended lockdowns.
A majority of Michigan residents 65 and older are fully vaccinated, "but the vaccinations of older people do not explain rising hospitalizations among people younger than 60, including those in their 20s and 30s," or the worrisome trend of younger patients "coming in more often with serious cases of COVID-19," the Times reports. "Younger people are among those most likely to be out and about socializing and in the work force," for one thing, and they are just now getting access to the vaccine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The new influx of younger patients is taking a toll on hospital workers after a year of brief ebbs and tragic flows. "This third wave has just been very overwhelming, a lot of sick people and a lot of younger sick people," Andrew Chandler, an emergency room tech, tells the Port Huron Times Herald. "We're getting to the point where we're just so beat down," Alexandra Budnik, an intensive care nurse in Royal Oaks, tells The New York Times. "Every time we get a call or every time we hear that there's another 40-year-old that we don't have a circuit for — it's just like, you know, we can't save them all."
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 conspiratorial cartoons about FEMA
Cartoons Artists take on paper towel politics, king-sized conspiracies, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Take an island-hopping trip around Brittany
The Week Recommends From neolithic monuments to colourful harbours, there is much to discover
By The Week UK Published
-
Why has Joker: Folie à Deux divided critics?
Talking Point The sequel to Joker is 'staggeringly inept' in its attempts to explore mental health issues – but Lady Gaga is 'magnetic'
By The Week UK Published
-
Texas dairy worker gets bird flu from infected cow
Speed Read The virus has been spreading among cattle in Texas, Kansas, Michigan and New Mexico
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Dengue hits the Americas hard and early
Speed Read Puerto Rico has declared an epidemic as dengue cases surge
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US bans final type of asbestos
Speed Read Exposure to asbestos causes about 40,000 deaths in the U.S. each year
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Seattle Children's Hospital sues Texas over 'sham' demand for transgender medical records
Speed Read Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subpoenaed records of any Texan who received gender-affirming care at the Washington hospital
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Afghanistan has a growing female suicide problem
Speed Read The Taliban has steadily whittled away women's and girls' rights in Afghanistan over the past 2 years, prompting a surge in depression and suicide
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US life expectancy rose in 2022 but not to pre-pandemic levels
Speed Read Life expectancy is slowly crawling back up
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published
-
An increasing number of dog owners are 'vaccine hesitant' about rabies
Speed Read A new survey points to canine vaccine hesitancy
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published