Children are now admitted to a record number of hospitalizations in the United States and doctors warn that it could get worse as schools begin to open and the rapidly moving delta variant increases the number of cases.
Covid’s new hospital admissions for children have reached their highest levels since the U.S. began tracking pediatric cases about a year ago, reaching an average of 303 new admissions a day over the past week. end on August 22, according to data from the Centers for Control and Disvention Control.
Since most students are not old enough to receive the shots, doctors and epidemiologists say they fear the increase in Covid hospitalizations could get worse if more children are not vaccinated and school districts require masks and other safety precautions in class.
“It’s terrifying to see the number and severity of Covid-19 cases increase in children with the delta variant and so many children are still left unprotected,” said Dr. Nusheen Ameenuddin, a community pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic. “The pandemic never stopped and, unfortunately, it only takes a lit match to revive hell.”
Children continue to account for a very low number of hospitalizations, say doctors, who account for approximately 1.8% of all Covid hospitalizations in the United States. The virus does not affect both children and adults. They are less likely to become infected with Covid than other age groups and generally have milder symptoms. Of the CDC’s more than 520,000 covide deaths with demographics, fewer than 500 were under the age of 18.
However, some children with Covid may end up in the hospital. Some 4,404 children have suffered from a rare but severe, inflammatory syndrome caused by Covid known as MIS-C; 37 have died because of it, according to the CDC.
At Wolfson Children’s Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, 15 children were hospitalized with Covid, with six in the ICU Monday, according to the hospital. The hospital has reported 71 pediatric admissions so far this month and 87 admissions in July, higher than the 49 admissions reported during the previous community increase in January.
Dr. Mobeen Rathore, an epidemiologist there, said they are preparing for more cases.
“In the first nine days of school, there were 503 cases of coronavirus in Duval County public schools,” Rathore said. “Not only do we prepare for acutely ill children, but also MIS-C. We update our protocols and plan people, facilities, and supplies for any surges.”
Pediatric hospitalizations are highest in Oklahoma, Ohio, Louisiana and Kentucky, after adjusting for population, according to data compiled by the Department of Human Services for Health. All states have vaccination rates below the national rate, according to the CDC.
While the delta is much more contagious than previous variants, causing an increase in pediatric hospitalizations, so far it does not appear to cause more serious illnesses in children, said Sunitha Kaiser, a pediatric hospitalist at the University of California, San Francisco.
“We only have six or eight weeks of delta data, so that image will continue to evolve over time,” Kaiser said in a telephone interview. “But from what we can see so far, it’s doing the same thing in our body in terms of how the infection works, how it goes in and has a similar severity and symptoms to previous strains.”
He said vaccinations remain the best strategy to protect children and the community, as shots are so effective at preventing serious illness, hospitalizations and deaths. “This contagion can be curbed again by getting ever higher vaccination rates,” he added.
Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid vaccine has been authorized for emergency use by the FDA for children ages 12 to 15, while scientists are collecting more data on this age group; has been fully approved for over 16s. The Moderna vaccine has only been removed for adults, but is expected to soon be allowed to be used in 12- to 17-year-olds.
About 62.5% of all adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated, but only 44% of 16- and 17-year-olds have a full vaccination against Covid, according to the latest CDC data Monday. Only 34% of children ages 12 to 15 have received all of their Covid vaccines, the lowest of any age group that currently meets the requirements for the vaccine, according to the data.
Dr. Paul Offit, a doctor at Philadelphia Children’s Hospital, where doctors are also seeing an increase in pediatric hospitalizations, said he was frustrated by the lower vaccination rate among children.
“Yes, it is true that we do not yet have a vaccine for children under 12, but we do have it for young people aged 12 to 17 and there is only a 30% uptake,” he said.
He said federal and state health officials should focus on convincing unvaccinated parents to get vaccinated, because they are often the ones who decide if their children can do it.
Ameenuddin, of the Mayo Clinic, said it is about asking her patients and families if they have received the vaccine.
“Most eligible people have said yes, which is reassuring, and they even ask when it will be available for the younger group,” he said.