"It's scary to see the severity and number of Covid-19 cases increasing in children with the Delta variant, and so many children still left unprotected," stated Dr. Nusheen Amieenuddin at the Mayo Clinic. "The pandemic has not stopped and it takes only one lit match to ignite the inferno,"
Doctors and epidemiologists fear that the increase in Covid hospitalizations is likely to worsen if more children are vaccinated. They also suggest that schools require the use of safety precautions such as masks.
The number of new Covid hospital admissions for children has risen to its highest level since the U.S. began tracking pediatric cases around a year ago. It topped at an average 303 admissions per day during the week ending August 22, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show.
Children are being admitted to hospitals in record numbers across the United States. Doctors warn that this could worsen as schools reopen and the rapid-moving delta variant drives the cases higher.
Doctors note that children still make up a small percentage of all hospitalizations for Covid in the U.S. Children are not as affected by the virus as adults. Children are more likely to contract the virus than other age groups, and have milder symptoms. The CDC has demographic data for less than 500 Covid deaths in which children under 18 were involved.
Some children with Covid may end up in the hospital. According to the CDC, 4,404 children have been diagnosed with a rare but severe inflammatory condition called MIS-C. 37 of these children died.
According to Wolfson Children's Hospital, Jacksonville, Fla., 15 children were admitted with Covid. Six of them were in the ICU Monday. This month, the hospital reported 71 pediatric admissions and 87 in July. These numbers are higher than the 49 reported in January's community surge.
An epidemiologist at the hospital, Dr. Mobeen Rathore said that they are ready for more cases.
Rathore stated that 503 coronavirus cases were reported in Duval County Public School's first nine days. "We are not only prepared for acutely ill kids, but also MIS C. We are updating protocols and planning for people and facilities for any surge.
According to data from the Department of Health Human Services, pediatric hospitalizations in Oklahoma, Ohio and Louisiana are higher than those in Kentucky. According to the CDC, these states have lower vaccination rates than the national average.
Although delta is more contagious than other variants, it has caused an increase in pediatric hospitalizations. Sunitha Kaiser, a pediatric surgeon at the University of California San Francisco, stated that while it can cause severe illness in children, it does not appear to be more so.
Kaiser stated that there are only six to eight weeks of data available on delta, so the picture will continue to change over time. Kaiser spoke to Kaiser in a telephone interview. "But, from what we have seen so far, it is doing the same thing inside our bodies in terms how the infection works and how it gets into and it has similar severity and signs to previous strains," Kaiser said.
She stated that vaccinations are still the best strategy to protect children and their communities, as they prevent severe diseases, hospitalizations, and even death. She said that contagiousness can again be controlled by increasing the vaccination rates.
The FDA has granted Pfizer and BioNTech authorization for the emergency use of Covid vaccine for children aged 12-15 while scientists collect more data. It's fully approved for adults 16 years and older. Moderna's vaccine is currently only approved for adults. However, it is expected to be authorized soon for use by 12- to 17-year-olds.
According to the CDC's latest data Monday, only 44% of 16- and-17-year-olds have received full vaccination against Covid. Only 62.5% of adults in the U.S. are fully vaccinated. The data shows that only 34% of children aged 12-15 have received all of their Covid shots, which is the lowest level of vaccination available for any age group.
Paul Offit, a pediatrician at Children's Hospital Philadelphia, expressed frustration over the low vaccination rate for children.
He stated, "Yes, we don't yet have a vaccine for children under 12, but we do have one to treat 12-17-year-olds. There's only about 30% uptake."
He suggested that federal and state health officials should be focusing on convincing parents not vaccinated to get shots, as they often make the decision about whether their children will get them.
Ameenuddin, Mayo Clinic, said that she asks her patients and their families if they have received the vaccine.
She said that most eligible people had been saying yes to the program, which was reassuring and even asked when it would be made available for younger members.
