The rate of hospitalization of children under the age of 5 for Covid-19 infection in the USA has reached its highest level since the beginning of the pandemic.
Rochelle Walensky, President of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that it is even more important for older children and adults around them to be vaccinated to protect children in this group, which is the only age group not eligible for the vaccine.
Since mid-December, the highly contagious Omicron variant of the Corona virus has been spreading rapidly across the USA. The hospitalization rate among young children increased to more than 4 per 100,000 children. Previously, this figure was 2.5 per 100 thousand.
According to the CDC’s data from 250 hospitals in a total of 14 states, the rate of hospitalization among children ages 5 to 17 is 1 per 100,000.
Stating that the hospitalization rate of children in all age groups is at the highest level compared to the previous periods of the pandemic, Walensky stated that more than half of the children aged 12-18 and only 16% of the children aged 5-11 are vaccinated.
Lower than all other age groups
Still, hospitalization rates among children and adolescents are lower than any other age group, accounting for less than 5 percent of the average daily hospitalization rate, according to the CDC.
As of Tuesday, the average number of patients under the age of 18 hospitalized for Covid-19 each day was 766, more than double from two weeks ago.
The states with the highest rates of hospitalization among young children are Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee, California and Oregon.
Seattle Children’s Hospital Intensive Care Chief Dr. John McGuire, on the other hand, said that they saw that children with the Omicron variant were milder than the Delta variant.
‘They come to the hospital for other problems’
McGuire told Reuters news agency that most of the children who were found to have Covid-19 at the hospital were actually there for other problems, but meanwhile they tested positive for Covid-19.
Epidemiologist Anthony Fauci also said earlier this week that they thought Omicron was causing milder illness overall, but that the greater the contagion, the more children would be sick and some would be hospitalized.
Fauci added that many of the hospitalized children had other health problems that made them vulnerable to complications from Covid-19.
Pfizer’s two-dose vaccine did not provide expected protection for 2-4 year olds
Pfizer announced last month about its vaccine study in children aged 2-4, that two doses of the vaccine did not provide the expected protection in this age group.
Pfizer also began giving a third dose to children under the age of 5 as part of its study. The results of the study are expected to be announced in early spring.
The CDC also reported Friday that Pfizer’s vaccine also provides protection against a syndrome in older children that results in inflammation and multi-organ failure from Covid-19.
It was stated that at least 28 days have passed since Pfizer’s vaccination, and none of the 102 children aged between 12 and 18 had to be connected to a ventilator or other life support units after hospitalization due to this syndrome.
The condition known as “multiple systemic inflammatory syndrome” can be recognized by persistent fever, abdominal pain and rash. Although most of the children with this syndrome recovered, 55 children died.
Another CDC report found that children with Covid-19 were twice as likely to be diagnosed with diabetes as those who did not have the disease. While scientists continue to investigate the cause, it is thought that the virus may be attacking the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.