“It’s so heartbreaking,” Dr. Paul Offit, an infectious disease expert at Children’s Hospital Philadelphia, said. It was difficult enough last year. But now, you know there is a way to stop it all.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 378 children aged 17 and below were admitted to hospitals with coronavirus each day during the week of December 22-28. This is 66% more than the previous week.
According to the CDC, the previous record for the pandemic was set in September when the average number of child hospitalizations per day was 342
Children continue to make up a small portion of patients with COVID-19. In December, an average of almost 10,200 people from all ages were admitted daily. Many doctors believe that the children are less sick than those who arrived during the summer delta surge.
CDC data show that 14% of children are fully protected two months after their vaccinations were approved. At 53%, the rate for 12- and 17-year-olds is higher.
The CDC released a study Thursday that confirmed that Pfizer vaccine side effects in children aged 5-11 years old are very rare. These findings are based on 8 million doses of the vaccine given to children in this age group.
Professor of epidemiology at Yale School of Public Health Dr. Albert Ko noted that the low vaccine rate was partly due to timing. Younger children were not vaccinated until November and many are just now getting their second dose.
Offit stated that none of the vaccine-eligible kids receiving treatment at his hospital a week ago had been vaccinated. However, two-thirds of them had underlying conditions that could put them at risk, such as chronic lung disease and obesity. Only one child was below the age of 5
These scenes are heartbreaking.
Offit stated that the patients are struggling to breathe and coughing. “Some were taken to the ICU to be sedated. The attachment that was attached to the ventilator is put down their throats and they are now crying.
He said that neither the parents nor siblings were vaccinated.
He said that the next four to six weeks will be difficult.
Aria Shapiro (6 years old) spent Thursday, her 12th day at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. After receiving her first dose of vaccine Dec. 17, she tested positive for COVID-19.
Aria is “medically fragile” due to epilepsy. She suffered long seizures in the hospital and had to have a breathing tube placed down her throat. However, she has improved since then.
Sarah Shapiro, her mother, said that she and her husband lived in a sane way for two years to keep her from getting COVID. Then, we decided to get the vax. And the thing that we did not want to happen was happening. It wasn’t enough time to allow her body to make antibodies. “She did get COVID.”
All ages of Americans have seen an increase in COVID-19 cases. They now average 300,000 per day, which is 2 1/2 times what it was just two weeks ago. According to the CDC, 59% of all new cases occurred last week due to highly contagious omicron.
However, early signs suggest that the variant can cause milder illnesses than the previous versions. The booster and vaccine combination seems to be effective in protecting people from the worst side effects.
Health officials in California reported that 80 children with COVID-19 infection were admitted to hospital during the week of December 20-26. This compares to 50 who were admitted to the hospital the previous week.
Seattle Children’s reported an increase in children admitted to the hospital over the last week. While they are not as seriously ill as those who were hospitalized in the summer, Dr. John McGuire warned that this is still early in the omicron wave and the full impact will be apparent over the coming weeks.
New York’s health authorities also raised the alarm.
Between Dec. 5th and Dec. 24, the number of children admitted into New York City’s hospitals per week with COVID-19 increased from 22 to 109. It increased from 70 to 184 in New York State. Nearly 5,000 New Yorkers were treated with COVID-19.
Ko stated that a fourfold increase in New York City’s population causes everyone to be concerned, but it is a small percentage. “Children are at low risk of being admitted to hospital, but children who have been vaccinated are not at high risk.”
Dr. Al Sacchetti of Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center in Camden (New Jersey) said that vaccinated children are managing the omicron epidemic very well.
He said, “It makes all the difference in how these children tolerate the disease, especially if they have some medical issues.”
Over the course of the pandemic, COVID-19-related deaths among children have been rare. According to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics, 721 children in the United States had died of COVID-19 as of last week. The total U.S. death rate is over 800,000.
The pediatrics group reported that almost 199,000 COVID-19 child cases were reported between Dec. 16 and 23. This represented 20% of the 950,000 cases that were reported during that week.
Many of these children will be able to recover at home. However, some may come in contact with other children who are more at risk, according to Dr. Jason Terk, North Texas pediatrician. He said that he cared for a 10-year old boy with COVID-19, who was well managed, but his father died.
He said that while the death of a parent can be devastating, it is not possible to quantify the toxic stress that young people experience in such a situation. ___
Tang reported from San Jose in California.
