KCMO sees an increase of 1,100% in cases of childhood COVID in 2 months

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Kansas City, Missouri Department of Health has seen a 1,100% increase in childhood COVID-19 cases since June.

In August, 606 cases of COVID-19 were reported in children under 12 in Kansas City, Missouri.

This is the highest rate of COVID-19 cases in children under 12 in Kansas City since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the department.

With 407 cases per 100,000 children, interim director Frank Thompson said it places the city above the “high-risk” threshold set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC has said there is a high risk of transmission among children from areas with more than 200 cases per 100,000 people.

According to Thompson, COVID-19s affect children more because of the delta variant, while at the beginning of the pandemic they were not as affected.

“August [is] the worst month of the pandemic for under-18s and, in particular, for under-12s. At the beginning of this pandemic, we did not see a large number of children. With this delta variant, that has changed, ”Thomspon said.

The number released Thursday, Thompson said, barely represents an expected increase back to school, as most students have only returned to the classroom for a couple of weeks.

September data will be more indicative of the effects of returning to school, according to Thompson.

Children’s Mercy is recording a record number of patients with COVID-19, Thompson said, more than any other point in the pandemic.

The dramatic increase is not surprising for some parents.

“I feel like when the state decides to open up so quickly without a plan really, that’s what to expect,” said Amber Hoskins, a mother. “So no, I wasn’t surprised at all.”

Hoskins said his daughter’s school, KCPS Central Middle School, is betting on the possibility of another increase in the coming weeks.

“Recently, they informed the kids to start bringing their laptop, start taking them home every day, in case there was an outbreak,” Hoskins said. “They’re socially distant and they wear masks.”

From May to the end of August, 1,203 children under the age of 18 were hospitalized due to COVID-19, according to data from the health department.

With a vaccination rate of 43.2%, Kansas City can “do better for our children,” the health department said via Twitter.

Thomspon urged people close to children to employ multiple mitigation strategies to protect the youngest in Kansas City.

That’s more than just masking, Thompson said. People should also consider physical distancing, frequent hand washing, and disinfection of high-use surfaces in their mitigation efforts.

People who are tired of masking themselves or don’t want their children to mask should consider the effects of their live actions on other people, Thompson said.

“Not only are you really committed to the safety and health of your child, but you are willing to bet on the health and safety of the children with whom they are in the classroom and who are in the dining room.” Thompson said, “Maybe you know your child’s health status and you’re sure your child can get COVID and be okay, but what about all the other kids they’re in contact with? Are you really willing to put someone else’s child in the hospital because it’s uncomfortable for your child to wear a mask? ”

Still, Thompson acknowledged that people feel pandemic fatigue and that there is a real need to continue with other businesses.

“A year and a half of mitigation measures are a lot,” he said. “From a public health perspective, would we have liked to have seen some of these mitigations in place? Yes. But you always have to balance that with some of the other public interests in terms of the city, revenue, and activity.” .

Department tweets on Thursday also urged people to get vaccinated, stressing the importance of Pfizer’s Food and Drug Administration approval.

Low vaccination rates in the city correlate “almost exactly” with the time the department sees a high number of cases right now, Thompson said.

Thompson reiterated that it is especially important for people around children to be vaccinated regularly.

“This population under the age of 12 cannot be vaccinated, so they really depend on the vaccination of everyone around them and they take mitigation measures to protect them, because they can’t do it themselves,” he said. Thompson.

Data comes only from the KCMO health department and does not include data from area county health departments.

You can find more information on the health department website.