According to Utah pediatricians, cases of COVID-19 continue to surge among children in Utah as soon as school begins.

Salt Lake City — The Children’s Hospital is full, the Delta Variant is twice as infectious as the original new coronavirus strain, and Utah already has 250% more COVID-19 cases than this time last year, but 12 Vaccines for children under the age of are not. Ready — and school hasn’t started yet, said a pediatric infectious disease doctor.

Dr. Andrew Pavia, Head of Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the University of Utah and Director of Hospital Epidemiology at Intermountain Primary Children’s Hospital, said:

Nationwide, there were 94,000 new diagnoses COVID-19 (New Coronavirus Infection) A child with a delta variant. He continued that this was the largest number of children with COVID-19 than at any time during the pandemic.

Children’s hospitals across the country have been affected, with record numbers of children in hospitals and ICUs in areas with low immunization rates. In Utah, the number of children diagnosed with COVID-19 has increased significantly, even though “we are not out of control.”

However, the number of primary children has reached capacity due to a 20% shortage of pediatric beds due to flood damage.There was also Rapid increase in RSV hospitalization Injuries caused by trauma during summer activities.

“We are essentially 100%. We are stressed without a big surge in COVID,” continued the doctor. And since school is about to begin and there is no universal mask obligation, he believes it will be exacerbated by falling on the already burned-out pediatric ICU doctors and nurses.

What do these growing, stressed pediatric healthcare professionals want the public to know during this surge and their return to school?

Dispel myths about children and COVID-19

Myth: Children are not affected by COVID-19

According to Pavia, children are ill with COVID-19 when looking at the data before the delta mutation was widespread. In fact, he went on to say, “The impact we saw on children last year was the use of very different viruses and strict universal masks, which was probably the absolute minimum.”

Children tend to be less severe than adults with the original strain, but more than 700 children are hospitalized in COVID-19 in Utah. And it’s not just death and hospitalization that COVID-19 can affect children.

“I think that saying death or death is the only bad outcome is a rough measure of the outcome,” said a pediatrician. Utah Branch of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Told KSL.com in another interview. “There are also disabilities, medical trauma, family consequences, and long COVIDs to consider.”

One outcome, especially in children, is pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C. It is a serious and sometimes fatal disease that can cause inflammation of parts of the child’s body, such as the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, and gastrointestinal organs. There is no known cause, but many children who get it are also infected with COVID-19.

Dr. Neil Davis, a pediatrician at Intermountain Healthcare and a medical director for pediatric community-based care, states that about 100 children are admitted to the Primary Children’s Hospital at MIS-C.

Children with long COVIDs can be a lifelong disability, according to Abondet. Treatment for hospitalized children can add to the cost of medical care for the family. When a child is ill, parents need to stay home with the child, affecting the rest of the family’s life. Quarantine can affect social development and mental health. Besides traditional infections, there are many ways children can get COVID-19.

Myth: Children are only affected by Delta variants

According to Pavia, the children were affected by the original strain of the virus and the delta mutant, but the infectivity of the mutant has increased the number of cases among the children.

Myth: COVID is no worse than flu for children

COVID-19, especially the delta variant, is much more contagious than influenza. According to Pavia, pediatric patients have more than 1,200 hospitalizations nationwide, which means that more children were hospitalized with COVID-19 than influenza in total four years ago.

He said the current delta mutant is more than five times more contagious than influenza and causes more than twice as many deaths in the worst year of influenza.

Myth: COVID-19 is less serious in children

In pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, “children are very ill and often need medication to maintain blood pressure. They are hospitalized for long periods of time. They can cause coagulation and complications. “Avondet said.

Long COVIDs can prolong brain fog, fever, and malaise. “In short, it’s a wrong story to say that kids are doing well with COVID,” she said.

Myth: COVID only affects teenagers

Pavia explained that the delta variant led to an increase in infections in children aged 5 to 12 years. Children under the age of 12 are infected with COVID-19 and cannot be vaccinated.

According to Davis, the best things parents can do to protect their children are to vaccinate everyone around them, have them wash their hands regularly, stay socially distant, and at school whenever they want. But it is to wear a mask.

Myth: Masks hurt children

“I think it’s a myth,” Pavia said. Masks can be hot and annoying, but AAP carefully examined the science and found that there was no significant risk to the child, he added.

Myth: Masks don’t work

“Children are not safe without masks. What we know is that masks are most effective when worn by everyone. People around them fall off (by not wearing masks). If so, it doesn’t work well for those who wear masks. “Pavia said.

He explains that using a better mask works better, but “no mask can provide 100% protection from a large number of viruses,” and fit is important.

Myth: Doctors don’t care, just trying to make a profit

Pavia choked the press conference a bit, saying, “I usually try to keep my emotions away from these briefings.

“We feel very strongly that we are putting our children at great risk,” he continued. “This is really very important for everyone who cares about children.”

He said he wants politicians and parents to cover up and keep their children safe, trust scientific experts, and do the right thing by following their lead.

XX

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