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Over 44% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and over 52% have received at least one dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Most coronavirus hospitalizations occur in adults, though COVID-19 poses a severe risk to unvaccinated teens, a recent U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report found. Nearly a third of teens ages 12-17 hospitalized with COVID-19 ended up in the intensive care unit, the study found.

Health officials are urging young Americans to get vaccinated, particularly given the potential threat of the more contagious Delta variant.

\"It's much easier to get the vaccine than to go through something like this,\" Huang said of Garza's case. \"He's extremely lucky. Most people in this situation don't make it to the transplant. You can't count on this outcome.\"

For Garza, he's sharing his story in hopes of helping prevent others from experiencing what we went through.

\"If I knew what I know now,\" he said, \"I would have definitely went through with the vaccination.\"

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