I read an article, “CDC: Worrisome Spike in Younger Teens’ COVID Hospitalizations”1, that discussed a recent rise in the number of adolescent cases and hospitalizations from SARS-CoV-2 infection. While the CDC is focused on encouraging all eligible persons to be vaccinated, I could not help but be drawn to the following:
“The study looked specifically at the 204 adolescents ages 12 to 17 in that dataset who appeared to have been admitted primarily due to COVID-19 from March 1, 2020 through April 24, 2021.
Among these patients, 52.5% were girls, 31.4% were Hispanic or Latinx, and 35.8% were non-Hispanic Black. Most had an underlying medical condition (70.6%), most commonly obesity (35.8%), asthma or other chronic lung disease (30.9%), and neurologic disorders (14.2%). In adults, 92% of those hospitalized for COVID-19 have had an underlying medical condition.”1
Again, we focus on the treatment of the symptom rather than the underlying disease. In this case, it is to focus on a vaccine and to ignore the gender and racial disparities and the medical conditions that are increasingly prevalent among adolescents, such as obesity, asthma and chronic lung disease, neurologic disorders. We want to avoid the issue of addressing the root causes of these conditions. Rather we prefer to focus on disparities in health care rather than on disparities in health. (Not to say that the former should not be addressed.)
It is no surprise that there is an up-tick in cases in adolescents as they begin interacting again. Undoubtedly, however, there has been an upswing in the aforementioned medical conditions as our young people have even more sedentary and isolated over the last 15 months. Still, as kids return to in-person school to varying degrees, physical education and sports continue to take a back seat. Now is the time to take a JFK approach to physical inactivity and the (un)health of our young people. President Kennedy’s vision and the mission of the then President’s Council on Physical Fitness has been lost. Locally, regionally, and nationally, we need to commit ourselves to ending childhood obesity by the end of this decade. We need to begin by addressing the underlying issues, such as social inequality, (lack of) urban planning, the use of school funding, health education, our system for providing nutrition (not just “food”) to the poor, etc. We cannot afford the continued rise in the costs to treat preventable disease. As my teenage son pointed out to me, we need to make corporations accountable for the crappy foods that they are addicting people to. We need to hold politicians and community leaders accountable. We have to accept personal accountability. We have to shift from a health care mindset to one of universal health. It is achievable by the end of this decade.
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!
1https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/92925?xid=nl_mpt_DHE_2021-06-05&eun=g1854320d0r&utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Headlines%20Top%20Cat%20HeC%20%202021-06-05&utm_term=NL_Daily_DHE_dual-gmail-definition&fbclid=IwAR3j0aJj2TwfVmre_CVb5nL7YsUFkb5FJFyE2yTgbc8xLMRSemUoz6TItfw