By Joe Murphy and Daniel Arkin -
NBC News
In the past four weeks, the average number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 rose 52%, from 1,270 on November 29 to 1,933 this Sunday, according to an analysis by our sister network NBC News based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
In the same period, adult hospitalizations with COVID-19 increased 29%, suggesting that
pediatric hospitalizations increased nearly twice those of adults.
The number of hospitalized children doubled in 10 states, as well as in Washington DC and Puerto Rico, according to the analysis.
The information available does not specify whether the children were vaccinated or eligible to receive the vaccine.
The reduction in quarantine for asymptomatic infected is based on when they are contagious
Dec. 29, 202102: 11
The states that have contributed the most to the increase in pediatric hospitalizations are Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohio.
[CDC reduces isolation period from 10 to 5 days for those who test positive for COVID-19 and no longer show symptoms]
Dr. Paul Offit, a vaccine expert at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Tuesday during NBC's TODAY Show that the increase in hospitalizations was likely inevitable due to the arrival of winter and the high transmissibility of the omicron variant.
Elena Rosales, 3, receives her second dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, with her mother, Mariaelena Lozano, on December 7, 2021.Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images
"It's winter, and this is a winter virus, and this omicron is particularly contagious, so I think I was going to see an increase anyway," said Offit, director of the hospital's Center for Vaccine Education.
However, he clarified that
many children in his hospital have tested positive for COVID-19 without showing symptoms or becoming ill.
“We test anyone who comes into the hospital for COVID-19, regardless of the reason, and we are definitely seeing an increase in cases.
But, we are not actually seeing an increase in hospitalized children for COVID-19 or in the intensive care unit, ”explained Offit.
Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, said omicron's high transmissibility serves as one more reminder that children are not immune to the virus.
CDC reduces recommended quarantine period for those with COVID-19
Dec. 28, 202102: 33
“We observed similar things when the delta variant appeared.
We had taken for granted that children were relatively less affected by COVID-19, and we saw an increase in the number of children infected and therefore admitted to hospital with complications, "he said.
He added that doctors are learning that the omicron variant appears to replicate much better in the nose and upper airways than previous variants, meaning parents should be on the lookout for possible symptoms like itchy throat or runny nose.
Parents should be on the lookout for possible symptoms like itchy throat or runny nose.
"We may end up seeing more classic respiratory illnesses," similar to viruses like influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, Creech said.
In general, pediatric cases of COVID-19 are mild compared to adults.
But children can develop serious complications, such as prolonged COVID and a multi-organ inflammatory syndrome called MIS-C.
The syndrome is most common in children ages 5 to 11.
In recent days, New York has seen a particularly notable increase in childhood cases and hospitalizations, putting more parents on high alert.
Paramedics treat a 2-year-old girl as she is transported to a hospital on August 25, 2021, in Houston, Texas.John Moore / Getty Images
The New York State Department of Health sent a notice to doctors on Christmas Eve warning of
an "upward trend" in pediatric hospitalizations.
[Ómicron begins to saturate children's hospitals]
The increase was concentrated in New York City, according to the advisory, which was based on data compiled between Dec. 5 and the week beginning Dec. 19.
The official gazette did not specify the number of children hospitalized, but indicated that admissions in New York City had "quadrupled" during that period in December.
Half of the children hospitalized during that period were under the age of 5, meaning they were not eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
