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US: Hospitalisations skyrocket in kids too young for Covid shots
Official says the trend in children too young to be vaccinated underscores the need for others to get their shots
Nurse practitioner Rita Ray collects a nasal swab sample from Sebastian Hernandez, 5, for a Covid-19 test at Families Together of Orange County community health centre in Tustin, California. — AP
Hospitalisations of US children under 5 with Covid-19 soared in recent weeks to the highest levels since the pandemic began, according to government data released on Friday.
The worrisome trend in children too young to be vaccinated underscores the need for older kids and adults to get their shots to protect those around them, said Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Since early December, as the highly contagious Omicron variant has spread furiously around the country, the hospitalisation rate in these youngest children has surged to more than 4 in 100,000 youngsters.
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That compares with about 1 per 100,000 for kids ages 5 to 17, according to CDC data.
In a statement, Walenksy said that while children still have the lowest rate of hospitalisation of any age group, “paediatric hospitalisations are at their highest rate compared to any prior point in the pandemic.”
At a briefing, she said the numbers include children hospitalised because of Covid-19 and those admitted for other reasons but found to be infected.
She noted that just over 50 per cent of children ages 12 to 18 are fully vaccinated and only 16 per cent of those 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated.
As of Tuesday, the average number of children and teens admitted to the hospital per day with Covid-19 was 766, double the figure reported just two weeks ago.
At a White House briefing this week, Dr Anthony Fauci, the top US infectious-disease expert, said many children hospitalised with Covid-19 have other health conditions that make them more susceptible to complications from the virus. That includes obesity, diabetes and lung disease.
Fauci and Walensky have emphasised that one of the best ways to protect the youngest children is to vaccinate everyone else.
Data suggest booster shots offer the best protection against Omicron, and CDC this week recommended them for kids as young as 12. Among older ages already eligible, just 34 per cent have received them.
The surge in hospitalisations only heightens the concerns of parents worried about how to keep their infants and toddlers safe.
Emily Hojara and Eli Zilke of Sawyer, Michigan, are being 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 house unless masked, not even grandparents.
“It’s been a struggle, and now with this new variant, I feel it’s knocked us back,” Hojara said. She said the new hospitalisation data “just reminds you that that anxiety is hovering really close”.
“It’s scary that she can’t be vaccinated,” Hojara said of her daughter.
Dr Jennifer Kusma, a paediatrician with Chicago’s Lurie Children’s Hospital, said she has seen increasing numbers of kids hospitalised with Omicron, and while most aren’t severely ill, she understands parents’ worries.
“As a paediatrician, I really wish we already had that vaccine for these young kids,” Kusma said. But she added that what may seem like a long wait should reassure parents that vaccine testing is not being rushed.
Many had hoped the new year might bring a vaccine for young children, but Pfizer announced last month that two doses didn’t offer as much protection as hoped for in youngsters ages 2 to 4.
Pfizer’s study has been updated to give everyone under 5 a third dose, and data is expected in early spring.
- Americas
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