Pence claims Americans are seeing ‘encouraging news’ as US sees record surge
Vice President Mike Pence said that while it is “encouraging news” that new cases of coronavirus are increasingly among young Americans, young people also “have a particular responsibility” to ensure they’re not spreading the virus to vulnerable populations.
Pence said about half of news cases among people under the age of 35, “which is at a certain level, very encouraging news, as the experts tell us.” Pence said.
Yesterday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the pandemic has moved into younger populations — a change that could mean less serious illness and lower rates of death.
“As we know, so far in this pandemic, younger Americans are less susceptible to serious outcomes of the coronavirus,” Pence said at an ongoing coronavirus task force briefing.
However, Pence added that young Americans must be careful to not spread the virus to older or more vulnerable people.
“Younger Americans have a particular responsibility to make sure that they’re not carrying the coronavirus into settings where they would expose the most vulnerable,” he said.
The risk of serious complications and death rises with age, the CDC says, although there’s no clear age cutoff for higher or lower risk. People with diabetes, kidney disease, moderate to severe asthma, and obesity are also at higher risk.
