Hospitalization in very young children for covid shots

Dr. Rochelle Valensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the worrying trend among children too young to be vaccinated underscores the need for older children and adults to take their shots to help protect those around them. Is.

from mid-December, with Highly Infectious Omicron Type Rapidly spreading across the country, the hospitalization rate among these youngest children has increased from 2.5 per 100,000 children to more than 4.

The rate for children ages 5 to 17 is about 1 per 100,000, according to CDC data drawn from more than 250 hospitals in 14 states.

Overall, “pediatric hospitalizations are at their highest rate compared to any prior point in the epidemic,” Valensky said.

He noted that only over 50% of 12 to 18 year olds, And only 16% of those 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated.

Hospitalization rates among children and adolescents are still lower than in any other age group. And according to the CDC, they account for less than 5% of the average new daily hospital admissions.

As of Tuesday, the average number of patients under the age of 18 hospitalized per day with COVID-19 stood at 766, more than double the figure reported two weeks ago.

The CDC said the trend toward the youngest children is driven by higher hospitalization rates in five states: Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee, California and Oregon, with the fastest increases in Georgia.

At a briefing, Valensky said the numbers included children hospitalized due to COVID-19 and children admitted for other reasons but found infected.

The CDC also said the increase may be partly due to increased COVID-19 hospitalizations in this age group: a positive virus test within 14 days of hospitalization for any reason.

Dr. John McGuire, chief of critical care at Seattle Children’s Hospital, said the severity of illness in children during the omicron wave appears to be less than in the delta version.

“Most of the COVID+ kids at the hospital aren’t actually here for the COVID-19 disease. They’re here for other issues, but have tested positive,” McGuire said in an email.

The nation’s top infectious-disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said earlier this week that while Omicron causes less-severe disease across the board, the sheer number of infections due to its high transmissibility would mean that many And children will be infected, and a certain portion of them will end up in the hospital.

Fauci also said that many children hospitalized with COVID-19 have other health conditions that make them more vulnerable to complications from the virus. Including obesity, diabetes and lung disease.

Fauci and Valensky emphasize that one of the best ways to protect the youngest children is to vaccinate everyone else.

Hospitalization raises concerns for some parents.

Emily Hojara and Ellie Zilke of Sawyer, Michigan, are extra-protective of their daughter, Flora, who turns 2 in May. They limit her contact with other children, and no visitors are allowed in the home unless masked, not even grandparents.

“It’s been a struggle, and now with this new version, I think it has knocked us back,” Hojara said.

“It’s scary that she can’t be vaccinated,” she said of her daughter.

Dr. Jennifer Kusma, a pediatrician at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, said she has seen an increase in the number of children hospitalized with Omicron, and while most are not critically ill, she understands the concerns of parents. .

“I really wish we already had that vaccine for these little kids,” Kusama said. But he said what may seem like a long wait should reassure parents that vaccine trials are not being rushed.

Many had hoped the new year could bring a vaccine for young children, but Pfizer announced last month that two doses did not provide as much protection in young people ages 2 to 4.

Pfizer’s study has been updated to allow less than one-third of all doses given at 5, and the data are expected to begin in the spring.

Also on Friday, the CDC released a report showing that Pfizer shots protect older children who develop a serious but rare COVID-19-associated condition that involves inflammation of multiple organs.

Of the 102 children aged 12 to 18 who were hospitalized with the condition, none who had received two Pfizer shots at least 28 days prior needed a ventilator or other advanced life support. Was. In contrast, 40% of illiterate children require such treatment.

The condition, multisystem inflammatory syndrome, causes symptoms that can include persistent fever, abdominal pain, and rashes. Most children recover, but 55 people have died.

A separate CDC report found that children who had COVID-19 were twice as likely to develop diabetes as young people who did not have the virus. Scientists are investigating why this is so, but it appears that the virus attacks insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed.