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More and more children are appearing in hospitals across the county, requiring COVID treatment -
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A CDC graph showing COVID cases among teens and children
Echoing what more than a dozen nurses told The Examiner this week, a study released Sept. 3 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that COVID cases are increasing among patients younger than 17.
Among U.S. children and adolescents aged 0–17 years, COVID-19 cases and associated ED visits and hospital admissions increased during June 2021–August 2021, the study states.
During a 2-week period in August 2021, COVID-19–associated ED visits and hospital admissions for children and adolescents with confirmed COVID-19 were highest in states with lowest vaccination coverage, particularly states in the South, whereas in the states with the highest coverage, COVID-19 ED visits and the rate of hospital admissions among children and adolescents were lowest. These findings underscore the importance of community vaccination, in coordination with testing strategies and other prevention measures, to protect children from SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe COVID-19.
"Weekly COVID-19–associated hospitalization rates among children and adolescents rose nearly five-fold during late June–mid-August 2021, coinciding with increased circulation of the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant," the study asserts. "The proportions of hospitalized children and adolescents with severe disease were similar before and during the period of Delta predominance. Hospitalization rates were 10 times higher among unvaccinated than among fully vaccinated adolescents.
"Preventive measures to reduce transmission and severe outcomes in children and adolescents are critical, including vaccination, universal masking in schools, and masking by persons (older than 2) in other indoor public spaces and child care centers."