A record number of children are hospitalized in Covid-19 as overall Covid-19 hospitalization soars beyond the delta peak.

CNN

Holly Yang and Travis Caldwell, CNN

As the predominance of the Omicron variant increases, more children are hospitalized with Covid-19 than ever before.

On average 672 children were admitted to the hospital daily on Covid-19 According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, such numbers of pandemics were the highest during the week ending on Sunday.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), this follows a record number of new Covid-19 cases among children.

According to data released this week by AAP, there were more than 325,000 new cases in the week leading up to December 30, with a 64% increase in new pediatric cases compared to the previous week, AAP said.

And for all ages, hospitalization with Covid-19 has reached a new milestone.

On Tuesday, 112,941 Americans were hospitalized for Covid-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The new numbers are well above the peak hospitalizations during the delta variant’s surge, reaching around 104,000 in early September.

“Unfortunately, this is the result of the highly contagious variant, the Omicron variant,” Dr. Vivek Murthy, US Surgeon General, told CNN on Tuesday.

In just four weeks, Omicron surged from an estimated 8% of new Covid-19 infections. Estimated 95% of new infections, According to the CDC.

Currently, more hospital intensive care units are approaching capacity.

Nationally, one-fifth of hospitals with ICUs say their units are at least 95% full, according to DHHS data. And more than a quarter of all ICU beds nationwide were occupied by Covid-19 patients.

The surgeon general reiterated what many doctors reported this winter. The majority of Covid-19 patients admitted are not vaccinated or boosted.

“Remember, those vaccines work. These boosters are more important than ever,” Mercy said.

And millions of kids returning to school may be able to get booster shots right away.

FDA approves Pfizer booster doses for children ages 12-15

The rapid spread of Omicron variants has helped spur the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Approve Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine booster for children ages 12-15, Dr. Janet Woodcock, FDA Deputy Commissioner, said on Monday.

For everyone over the age of 12, the FDA has also reduced the time required between a second dose of Pfizer vaccine and a booster dose from 6 months to 5 months.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky supported reducing the time required before booster administration. The authorities’ Vaccine Advisory Board will meet on Wednesday to discuss expanding booster eligibility from 12 to 15 years old.

The FDA also permits booster immunization for children aged 5 to 11 years with immunodeficiency, including children who have undergone organ transplants.

“Amazing number” of Omicron cases in a children’s hospital

Covid-19, the largest children’s hospital in the country, has quadrupled in hospitalizations in the last two weeks. It is supported by the Omicron mutant, the most infectious strain of the new coronavirus that has hit the United States.

Dr. Jim Versalovich, a pathologist at the Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, said:

“It broke the previous record established during the August Delta Surge.”

Sequencing showed that 90% of recent Covid-19 patients in the hospital were infected with the Omicron variant, Versalovic said.

Like the Surgeon Chief, Versalovic said vaccination was important to minimize Covid-19 hospitalization.

Still, more than 80% of school-aged children in the Houston area have not been vaccinated, Versalovic said.

And more than one-third of recent Covid-19 patients in the hospital were under the age of five. “Unfortunately, those children aren’t yet available for the vaccine,” Versalovic said.

In New York, “you see more Covids than you’ve seen in previous waves,” said pediatrician Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez.

“And I’m worried that the worst of winter here hasn’t passed. And we’re preparing for the future.”

Doctor: Do not underestimate the impact on children

Pediatricians have acknowledged that some patients with Covid-19 are actually seeking treatment for another condition and may have happened to be positive for the coronavirus test.

However, “it is clear that the majority of cases have Covid-19 as a major factor or a key factor in hospitalization,” said Versalovic, a Texas children’s pathologist.

And with a recent record number of pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations, Severe illness among some children — Means that the current surge should not be ignored.

“At this point in the pandemic, it’s foolish to keep the kids’ Covid-19 to a minimum,” Bracho-Sanchez said.

Early research The proposed Omicron causes less serious illness From the delta variant. However, Omicron is much more contagious.

And early studies suggested that Omicron could cause more upper respiratory tract problems, unlike previous strains that caused lower respiratory tract problems.

Upper airway complications can be more dangerous for infants than for adults, Bracho-Sanchez said.

“You can’t treat a child’s airway like an adult’s airway,” she said.

“And for us pediatricians, we know that respiratory viruses can … cause croup, bronchiolitis, and inflammation of the upper respiratory tract that annoys children.”

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CNN’s Deidre McPhillips, Ben Tinker, Virginia Langmaid, Miguel Marquez, Matthew Hilk, Maggie Fox, Katherine Dillinger and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.