OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A growing number of younger people are being hospitalized with the coronavirus in Nebraska as more contagious variants of the virus spread in the state.
Nebraska health officials said the average age of people hospitalized with the virus declined to 51 in March from 61 in January. Officials said the age is also shifting lower because a significant number of older people in the state have been vaccinated.
The number of people hospitalized is also growing and it hit 161 Wednesday as the state reported more cases of the virus. The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Nebraska nearly doubled over the past two weeks, going from 246.43 new cases per day on March 23 to 491.29 new cases per day on Tuesday.
So far the state has confirmed 237 cases of different variants of the coronavirus. Officials said Wednesday that Creighton University and CHI Health have begun testing more positive cases of the virus to determine if they were caused by variants. That testing will supplement similar work that was already being done at the Nebraska Public Health Laboratory and give the state a more complete picture of which variants are causing most of the infections.
Dr. Maureen Tierney, assistant dean for clinical research and public health at Creighton University’s medical school, said the variant that was first identified in the United Kingdom is likely to become the dominant strain of the virus in the state because it’s believed to be more contagious. Studies have also suggested that strain may cause more severe illnesses.