Childhood hospitalizations for COVID rise to record

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients is reaching record levels in the United States as cases caused by the omicron variant skyrocket.

COVID-19 hospitalizations rose 165% to an average of 830 daily admissions of people under 17, compared to the week ending Dec. 26, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. of Diseases (CDC).

However, mortality rates for young patients remain low compared to the older population.

As the number of cases continues to rise, Adrienne Randolph, a senior physician at Boston Children’s Hospital who is leading a CDC-funded study of COVID-19 in hospitalized children, says high volume is likely driving the increase in cases. admissions. It’s a mix of kids sick with COVID and those who are hospitalized for another illness and test positive once there, he says.

But more data is needed, especially on the risk of conditions that typically take longer to develop, such as a type of heart inflammation called myocarditis, or neurological effects, Randolph says.

The CDC released data last Friday showing that among children 4 and younger, the age group not yet eligible for vaccination, 4.3 in 100,000 were hospitalized for COVID, compared to 1 in 100,000 among older children. . Randolph says that children under the age of 4 are often the ones doctors see during the cold months with respiratory illnesses.

Children exposed to COVID can also develop a rare condition that can damage the heart, lungs, and brain, known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or SIM, which appears about a month after exposure, meaning the level of SIM associated with omicron is still unknown.

In good news, vaccination against COVID offers a high level of protection against MIS, according to a study Randolph was part of that looked at patients ages 12 to 18 and was released last week by the CDC.

Vaccine administration among children and adolescents has been quite low. Most of those hospitalized with serious illnesses are unvaccinated, Randolph says, and they are overwhelming medical centers across the country.