Topline
About 87% of kids hospitalized with Covid-19 when the omicron variant was dominant have been unvaccinated, in response to a study launched Tuesday by the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention, providing a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving kids unvaccinated.
A toddler receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine on September 22, 2021.
MARVIN RECINOS/AFP by way of Getty Pictures
Key Information
From mid-December to late February, unvaccinated kids ages 5 to 11 had a hospitalization charge 2.1 instances increased than their vaccinated friends, in response to a examine of 1,475 kids performed by researchers affiliated with the CDC and different public well being and analysis establishments.
Unvaccinated kids additionally spent longer within the hospital, with a imply hospitalization size of three days, in comparison with two days for vaccinated kids hospitalized with the coronavirus.
Black kids accounted for 34% of unvaccinated hospitalizations, in comparison with 30.7% for white kids and 18.9% for Hispanic kids, reflecting decrease vaccination charges amongst Black Individuals.
Although kids with diabetes and weight problems have been extra prone to develop extreme Covid-19, 30% of hospitalized kids had no underlying medical situations, researchers mentioned.
No vaccinated kids who have been hospitalized with Covid-19 in the course of the omicron interval required a “excessive diploma” of help for respiration, similar to using nasal oxygen tubes or mechanical air flow, the CDC mentioned in a press release.
Key Background
The Meals and Drug Administration has licensed Pfizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine for teenagers age 5 and older. Although an FDA-endorsed study discovered that Pfizer’s vaccine was 90.7% efficient at stopping Covid-19 amongst kids in that age vary and brought on no severe unwanted effects, youthful Individuals stay less likely to be vaccinated or boosted than older folks. The omicron variant has been linked to a fourfold enhance in youngster Covid-19 hospitalizations, in addition to a rise in doubtlessly extreme signs similar to higher airway infections, which may set off coronary heart assaults. Scientists have struggled to elucidate why a usually much less extreme type of the coronavirus would result in extra hospitalizations amongst kids. One possible explanation is that kids are extra weak to omicron as a result of they’re much less prone to have acquired resistance via earlier an infection or via vaccination—a concept the CDC’s new analysis seems to help. Tuesday’s CDC examine strengthened earlier findings that vaccination protects kids towards doubtlessly life-threatening Covid-19 problems like multisystem inflammatory syndrome, researchers mentioned.
Large Quantity
12.9 million. That’s the cumulative variety of youngster Covid-19 circumstances reported within the U.S. as of Thursday, accounting for 19% of all circumstances, in response to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). An AAP study of information from 46 states, New York Metropolis, Puerto Rico and Guam discovered a cumulative whole of 994 youngster Covid-19 deaths.
Contra
Omicron seems to place kids at much less danger of extreme sickness than different coronavirus variants. Between December 26 and February 17, the danger of extreme sickness amongst kids hospitalized with Covid-19 fell to three.4%, down from 38.8% in the course of the earlier roughly 22 months, in response to the JAMA Pediatrics examine. An AAP analysis of information from 46 states discovered that kids accounted for between 0% and 0.26% of Covid-19 deaths in every state, with three states reporting zero youngster Covid-19 deaths. Tuesday’s CDC examine recorded no youngster deaths throughout both the delta interval of the omicron interval.
Additional Studying
“Pricey Pediatrician: Till The COVID-19 Vaccine Is Obtainable For Younger Youngsters, How Can I Assist Preserve My Youngsters Protected?” (Forbes)
“Omicron Extra Probably To Trigger Higher Airway Infections Amongst Youngsters Than Earlier Covid Varieties, Examine Says” (Forbes)
