COVID-19 patients in South Dakota hospitals getting younger

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO.com) — Hospital patients with COVID-19 are getting younger, both nationally and in South Dakota.

This is largely due to vaccines and new virus variants.

State Epidemiologist Josh Clayton said hospitalizations among people 80 and older dropped but 46% in the month of March. At the same time hospitalizations among people in their 40s went up by 42%.

98 people are currently hospitalized in South Dakota, according to the state health department’s Tuesday update.

All South Dakotans 16 and older are now eligible for a free COVID-19 vaccine.

(Jerry Oster, WNAX, contributed to this report.)