The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday urged parents to vaccinate their teenagers against COVID-19, citing a rise in the number of adolescents hospitalized with the disease in March and April.
"I am deeply concerned by the number of hospitalized adolescents and saddened to see the number of adolescents who required treatment in intensive care units or mechanical ventilation," CDC director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement that accompanied a new study on teen hospitalizations.
Walensky implored parents to talk with teens about the importance of continuing to wear masks and "encourage them to get vaccinated." She said the CDC has recommended the Pfizer vaccine for people who are 12 and older based on the results of clinical trials.
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