Pediatric COVID Cases, Hospital Admissions Higher Than Ever

Jan. 5, 2022 — Weekly COVID-19 instances in youngsters have handed 300,000 for the primary time because the pandemic began, in response to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

The price of latest COVID-related hospital admissions additionally reached a brand new excessive of 0.74 per 100,000 youngsters as of Dec. 31. The highest price seen earlier than the present Omicron-fueled surge was 0.47 per 100,000 in early September, information from the CDC reveals.

Over 325,000 new instances of COVID-19 in youngsters had been reported by state and territorial well being departments in the course of the week ending Dec. 30, surpassing the earlier excessive of 252,000 recorded in early September and exceeding the earlier week’s depend by virtually 64%, the AAP and CHA stated of their weekly COVID report.

New instances had been up in all 4 areas of the United States, with the Northeast including probably the most newly contaminated youngsters and setting a brand new excessive for the fifth consecutive week. The South was simply behind for the week however nonetheless effectively off the document it reached in September. The Midwest was third however recorded its busiest week ever, whereas the West was fourth and nowhere close to its earlier excessive, the AAP/CHA report confirmed.

The whole variety of youngster instances because the pandemic started is nearly 7.9 million, in response to information collected from 49 states (excluding New York), the District of Columbia, New York City, Puerto Rico, and Guam. That determine represents 17.4% of all instances reported within the United States, and the speed of COVID an infection is as much as virtually 10,500 per 100,000 youngsters, that means that 1 in 10 youngsters have been contaminated.

While youngsters are nonetheless much less more likely to be hospitalized than adults, the hole seems to be closing. On Jan. 2, there have been 2,343 youngsters and 87,690 adults within the hospital with confirmed COVID, a ratio of 37 adults for every youngster. But on Sept. 5, on the peak of the earlier surge, the ratio of hospitalized adults (93,647) to youngsters (1,632) was 57:1, in response to information from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And new admissions present an identical sample. The 0.74 admissions per 100,000 youngsters recorded on Dec. 31 was decrease than, for instance, these for adults ages 30-39 years (2.7 per 100,000) or 50-59 years (4.25 per 100,000). But on Sept. 5, the corresponding figures had been 0.46 (youngsters), 2.74 (ages 30-39), and 5.03 (ages 50-59), based mostly on the Health and Human Services information.

A Look at Vaccinations

The vaccination response to Omicron has been extra subdued and considerably inconsistent. First vaccinations had been down amongst eligible youngsters for the week of Dec. 23-29. Before that, vaccinations for 5- to 11-year-olds and 12- to 15-year-olds had been down for the second week of December after which up a bit (5.6% and 14.3%, respectively) in the course of the third week. Meanwhile, first vaccines amongst 16- to 17-year-olds elevated by 63.2%, CDC’s COVID Data Tracker reveals.

Less than 1 / 4 (23.5%) of youngsters ages 5-11 obtained not less than one dose of the vaccine within the first 2 months they had been eligible, and solely 14.7% are totally vaccinated.

Among the older youngsters, 61.2% of 12- to 15-year-olds have obtained not less than one dose, whereas the identical is true for 67.4% of 16- to 17-year-olds. About 51.3% of 12- to 15-year-olds are totally vaccinated, whereas 57.6% of 16- to 17-year-olds are totally vaccinated, the CDC stated.

At the state degree, Massachusetts and Hawaii have the best vaccination charges for kids ages 12-17 years, with 86% having obtained a least one dose. Vermont is highest for kids ages 5-11, at 56%. The lowest charges will be present in Wyoming (38%) for 12- to 17-year-olds and in Mississippi (6%) for 5- to 11-year-olds, the AAP stated in a separate report.