More than 4,000 children are hospitalized due to COVID-19 across the country amid an increase in omicron infections, marking a new record above the increases in cases registered in the summer by delta.
The count includes confirmed and suspected pediatric coronavirus patients as of Wednesday and reflects a steep rise in infections in that group within days, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
Less than two weeks ago, on Christmas Day, there were fewer than 2,000 children admitted to hospitals across the country because of the virus.
The increase occurs amid a wave of cases by omicron and the return to the classrooms of students in much of the country, with the exception of some school systems, such as Chicago, which have decided to continue with virtual classes in the face of the threat of virus.
CDC Approves COVID-19 Booster Vaccine for Children 12 Years and Older
Jan. 6, 202200: 25
To face the advance of the omicron, health authorities have implored parents to vaccinate their children if they are eligible.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) further expanded the recommendation of Pfizer's COVID-19 booster vaccine to children 12 years and older on Wednesday, stating that the dose It can be applied from five weeks after the second.
"This booster dose will provide better protection against COVID-19 and the omicron variant. I encourage all parents to keep their children up-to-date with vaccine recommendations," CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday.
About 5 million children are immediately eligible for the additional doses.
The average number of children hospitalized with COVID-19
had already increased in the last month of the year by 52%
, from 1,270 on Nov. 29 to 1,933 on Dec. 28, according to an analysis by NBC News based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
The states that contributed the most to the increase in pediatric hospitalizations were
Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York and Ohio
.
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Members of the CDC committee discussed this week how strong the recommendation for boosting should be for children 12 years and older, taking into account that adolescents often have mild symptoms of COVID-19.
They compare omicron with measles because of its ease of contagion, with children being the most affected
Jan. 4, 202202: 30
"
I think we need to emphasize that the children are not well
," Dr. Katherine Poehling, a pediatrician at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in North Carolina, told her colleagues.
"It is true that children are hospitalized less frequently than adults, but the coronavirus is overwhelming our hospitals and our children's health centers," said the specialist, according to a report by NBC News.
The new variant accounted for 95% of all coronavirus cases in the country during the week ending January 1, according to CDC data.
In this photo provided by the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service, Army Capt. Corrine Brown, a critical care nurse, administers an antiviral medication to a COVID-19 patient in Idaho. Michael H. Lehman / AP
In a briefing on Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House's chief medical adviser, said that omicron appears to be less severe than previous variants, but the large number of infections being recorded will mean that many more children will become infected. they will infect and end up in the hospital.
Dr. Sara Oliver, CDC's epidemic intelligence officer, said in a presentation to the committee that
the majority of adolescents hospitalized with COVID-19 are not vaccinated
.
He said cases and hospitalizations due to the virus are seven to 11 times higher in unvaccinated minors compared to those who are immunized.
Oliver further said that the Pfizer vaccine appears to offer good protection against multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare but serious complication related to COVID-19.
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Some health experts criticized the limited data available on the risk of myocarditis from the vaccine in December, when the CDC approved the booster for teens ages 16 and 17.
Applying the booster to 12-15-year-olds "is key" to curbing the pandemic, says expert
Jan. 4, 202203: 33
The first two Pfizer injections appear to be well tolerated by 12- to 15-year-olds who received them, based on data shared with VAERS, a government-funded system for reporting adverse reactions to vaccines.
The most common adverse events reported to VAERS for the age group were dizziness, fainting, and headaches, based on data shared with the committee.
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There have been 265 confirmed cases of myocarditis as of Dec. 19, and all but 27 cases occurred in men, according to the data.
The CDC said it will continue to monitor the safety of vaccines in the age group.