New research found that more than 70% of COVID-19 infections in the United States last year originated in people between 20 and 49 years old.
British researchers at Imperial College London gathered the information by tracking cell phone data of more than 10 million Americans. Their results suggest that health experts target this group for vaccination to help control COVID-19.
According to the New York Post, people in that age group accounted for 72% of cases after schools reopened in October, while less than 5% came from children and less than 10% came from teenagers.
The study found that children who go back to school probably did not increase the number of cases in the fall, according to the Daily Mail. Instead, when normal life was resumed, it seemed that when young people went back to work and college and middle-aged people went back to work, the number of cases skyrocketed.
“We found that adults aged 20 to 49 are the main drivers of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States and are the only age groups that contribute disproportionately to the spread, in relation to population size,” said the study’s co-author, Dr. Melodie Monod.
The researchers said their findings show that more intervention is needed in this age group to control the spread of the virus.
“So, at least where highly transmissible variants have not been established, additional interventions targeting the 20-49-year-old group could bring resurgent epidemics under control and prevent deaths,” said Dr. Oliver Ratmann of Imperial College London.
© 2021 NewsmaxHealth. All rights reserved.