Covid-19 in young people

Riley Behrens was a healthy 23-year-old until he caught COVID-19. Now he is recovering from a mini-stroke that resulted from complications from the virus. He joined LX News to share his story and warn other young people to take the virus seriously.

As coronavirus cases are surging around the country, some colleges and universities are rethinking some of their plans for next semester

LX News host Ashley Holt talked to a college student from Illinois, a high school student from Georgia and an eighth grader from Indiana about returning to school in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fiona Lowenstein, 26, and Melanie Montano, 32, are evidence that even young and healthy people can become seriously ill with Covid-19. They discuss how physical and social isolation has made their months-long battles with coronavirus more difficult, and how Lowenstein has now co-founded a support group to help others suffering from the virus.

Dr. Jay Wolfson, Associate Dean at USF’s Morsani College of Medicine, says claims that young and healthy people don’t have to worry about catching coronavirus are simply not true. Even people with mild or asymptomatic cases may suffer from long-term effects, he said, so it is important that people don’t congregate where the disease can spread.

Much of the discussion around Covid-19 has involved the most serious cases in older and immunocompromised people. But even young, healthy people with so-called mild cases can experience serious symptoms with unknown, long-term consequences. Dr. Gregory Poland, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, explains why even young people need to take coronavirus seriously.