Reports Suggest – More Children Hospitalized In Omicron Wave!

Nikki Attkisson | Last Updated : February 17, 2022

In the last 25 months, the world has been trying to come to terms with the onslaught of the Coronavirus. Most doctors and health experts would corroborate the fact that children were said to be safe during the waves that were created by the Alpha, Beta, and Delta variants of the virus.

Reports Suggest – More Children Hospitalized In Omicron Wave

But things have changed a lot during the Omicron wave. The highest number of child infections have been reported during the month of January. The highest hospitalization rate was seen for children who were below 4 years of age.

Reports Suggest – More Children Hospitalized in Omicron Wave

The authorities have already corroborated the fact that the Omicron variant is highly mutated and also more contagious than the older virus variants. It has caused a huge surge in the US population alone in the last two months. The Christmas and New Year Celebrations have made it worse.

Apart from the infants and toddlers, the hospitalization rates for the children above 5 years were also quite high. The results have been released by the CDC. It is for parents to note that still a large section of children have not been vaccinated. So, the infections are likely to soar. The vaccines for above five-year-old children are available. And many are taking the vaccines.

However, the FDA has recently pushed back the dates for starting the vaccination of the toddlers below 5 years. It comes at a time when infections are still there in the community. The dates have been pushed back, as there is no data on the third dose, which seems to offer complete protection to the children. It is in April that the FDA will allow the emergency use authorization.

The vaccines for the teenagers were allowed from last month itself. It was seen that the infections in this age group did occur, and for unvaccinated ones, it led to hospitalization. This data supports the CDC’s or the health official’s stance, that vaccination is indeed one of the best ways to guard against the onslaught of the virus.

Apart from data on the kid’s vaccination, it has been said again and again, that the Omicron may be less virulent. However, laxity of any kind can lead to more people getting infected. It has also been seen that unvaccinated individuals have a greater chance of hospitalizations.

Many children have also reached the ICU. Many children were admitted for different issues like some planned surgery. However, the tests before the same confirmed the cases of infection. So this shows that the virus can be less virulent and not show any symptoms. So, many children or their parents were not able to identify if there was an infection in the first place.

The hospitalization rate has fallen from what it was in January 2022. However, the infection rates are still quite high. The children are a vulnerable lot. So, one can get the best idea from the hospital ICUs. The surge in Covid-19 infections has decreased to a huge extent. However, for all those who are vaccinated, things have been a lot better.

Moreover, the efficacy of the vaccines has been proven again and again. It does protect the incumbent against virulence. So, doctors and health experts are asking all to continue to get their eligible children vaccinated.

Currently, the variant seems to be under control. However, the risk is still looming large. So, vaccination seems to be the only way to stop the surge in hospitalizations. The month of April will be a deciding factor when the vaccines for the lowest age group are launched. Till then, parents have to get themselves vaccinated to protect the young ones.


Nikki Attkisson

With over 15 years as a practicing journalist, Nikki Attkisson found herself at Powdersville Post now after working at several other publications. She is an award-winning journalist with an entrepreneurial spirit and worked as a journalist covering technology, innovation, environmental issues, politics, health etc. Nikki Attkisson has also worked on product development, content strategy, and editorial management for numerous media companies. She began her career at local news stations and worked as a reporter in national newspapers.

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