Ahmed Aboulenein, Carl O’Donnell

NEW YORK, (Reuters) – Within weeks the Omicron variant had fueled thousands more COVID-19 hospitalizations in U.S. kids. This raises new questions about the future of the unvaccinated Americans below the age of 18.

Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the average seven-day hospitalizations for children in between Dec. 21 and December 27 rose more than 58% nationally to 334. That’s more than a 19% increase for all age groups. According to the CDC, less than 25% of America’s 74 million children are vaccinated.

Omicron cases in America are likely to rise faster as schools reopen following the winter holiday. Experts warned that.

Omicron may cause severe disease in children more than any other variant of coronavirus. Doctors believe it’s too soon to know, however Omicron’s high transmissibility could be a key reason that hospitalizations are increasing.

It is spreading faster and more widely. Numbers have gone up and hospitalizations for children increased,” stated Dr. Jennifer Nayak at University of Rochester Medical Center. She is an expert in infectious diseases and pediatrician.

Nayak stated that “what we’re seeing is that under-5-year-olds are not vaccinated, so there’s still an extremely large number of children who have never been vaccinated.”

New York City has one of the highest rates of vaccination in America, but only 40% of children aged 5-17 are fully vaccinated, compared to more than 80% for adults. City health data shows that this is even in a city like New York. The United States does not have a vaccine that is approved for children younger than 5.

New York City hospitalizations of 18-year-olds and under increased by 22 percent between Dec. 5, 2005, and 109 from Dec. 19, 23 and 24, respectively. The majority of cases involved children younger than 5 years old. From Dec. 19, to Dec. 23, there were 184 hospitalizations in the whole state for children 18 years and younger, up 70 since Dec. 5.

There is also an increase in children’s hospitalizations across the United States. The Ohio Hospital Association data shows that Ohio experienced a 125% jump in child hospitalizations over the past 4 weeks.

According to CDC data, Florida, New Jersey, and Illinois saw an average increase of more than twice in coronavirus-infected underage patients over the last week.

Slow UPTAKE

Many families hesitate to give a new vaccine for their children, as they have lower rates of vaccination than others.

Since 2005, less than 15% of U.S. kids aged 5-11 years have had their vaccines complete. Pfizer Federal data show that the COVID-19 shot by BioNTech and Inc (NYSE:), was approved for this age group in October.

Drs stated that the COVID-19 symptoms most commonly seen among hospitalized children in this month’s COVID-19 episodes are difficulties breathing, severe fever, and hypohydration.

They require help in breathing and getting oxygen. “They are so sick that they end up in hospital. That’s frightening for both doctors and parents,” Rebecca Madan, a Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at New York University Langone Health Hospital system, said.

Schools were closed during the winter holidays, which led to an increase in cases. According to New York City data, over a thousand classrooms were either partially or fully quarantined before the holiday. Following the winter recess, approximately a million students will be able to return to school in New York City’s schools on January 3.

A lot of COVID-19 transmission in children occurs outside schools, according to research. Madan and other researchers expect that holiday parties will lead to a significant increase in the number of cases, which may disrupt school attendance.

William Schaffner from Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said that the virus was able “to outsmart and penetrate beyond” what the parents did to protect their children.