The number of children admitted to hospitals for COVID continues to growExBulletin

Audi Cornish, Host:

With a record number of COVID cases (more than 1 million reported daily in the United States), children’s hospitals are feeling nervous. Seattle Children’s Hospital has a record number of patients. And in Cleveland, Ohio, admission is the highest pandemic ever. This is because more than 325,000 children tested positive for COVID last week.

Allison Aubrey of NPR has joined. And Alison, I would like to ask you about this increase in infection rates. How many children actually get to the hospital?

Allison Aubrey, Byline: Hello, Audi. Yes. The latest CDC data show that about 672 children are admitted to the hospital each day. It’s a pretty jump. However, last week’s hospitalization almost doubled compared to the previous week. This is not surprising to pediatricians, given the significant increase in the number of cases. Remember-Vaccines are not allowed for children under 5 years of age. And doctors tell me they see a lot of very young patients.

I talked to Shaky Tabel. She is a pediatrician at Seattle Children’s Hospital and sees not only COVID, but also many other respiratory viruses commonly found during this period.

SHAQUITA BELL: Most ERs are 200%. Similarly, our ER here at Seattle Children’s Hospital is working on a record high for patients seeking treatment. Therefore, there is a record incidence of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV infection), which is higher than COVID and overwhelms much of ER and emergency medical care.

Aubrey: They are also treating children with both COVID and RSV, respiratory viruses. So pediatricians are just dealing with a lot of things.

Cornish: Did you give? Did they give details about the type of illness severity?

Aubrey: As you know, most children treated with ER will be released instead of being hospitalized, Dr. Bell told me. And what many parents know or remember from a very young age is that when a young child becomes infected with the respiratory virus, he or she can get sick very quickly. When it is crowded, it may be difficult to breathe and eat. They can get-they can wheeze. They can cough. In ER, intravenous drip and respiratory therapy are often given. This is Dr. Bell.

Bell: It could be a really fast visit in normal time. But when our ER is looking at 200% of the amount we would have seen a few years ago, it’s a very long visit for all competing limited resources, a very long visit to the emergency room. It will be a long trip.

Aubrey: As you know, in addition to the increasing number of ER patients, more staff in hospitals are positive in this surge in Omicron. This means that these staff should be quarantined for 5 days. They are absent from work. And this creates a staffing challenge.

Cornish: Ohio has the highest number of hospitalizations ever. What are pediatricians looking at there?

Aubrey: What you hear from an Ohio doctor is similar to what you hear from Dr. Bell in Seattle. The number of cases of COVID has increased significantly, and all other respiratory viruses have also increased. Most children get mild illness, but think about it. Given the significant increase in cases, this can be difficult for hospitals to keep up with if only some children become seriously ill.

I talked to Frank Esper. He is an expert in pediatric infectious diseases at Cleveland Clinic.

Frank Esper: In my personal experience, what I’ve seen was a lot of COVID croup. That’s dog barking and wheezing-a large area swells. And they usually show cough, cough, cough, bark, bark, bark, cough, cough, cough. And they react-like all other croup treatment protocols, they’re okay.

Aubrey: They usually take steroids and other anti-inflammatory drugs, so there are clearly effective treatments. However, Dr. Esper points out that he sees this a lot in the crowd under the age of five. Remember-Vaccines are not licensed for this group.

Cornish: That’s right. Can you emphasize it for a moment?

Aubrey: Yes, of course. As you know, the lack of vaccination among young children is undoubtedly a factor. Pediatric ER can be used when a small number of children really get sick, such as RSV or the flu. They are used to it. But in Omicron, it is highly infectious and the number of cases continues to grow.

ESPER: Everyone seems to be infected at the same time. And that’s why we’re seeing these huge waves.

Aubrey: Dr. Esper’s hospital is backed by many National Guards. And he says they were really just flooded.

Cornish: It’s Allison Aubrey at NPR. Thank you for this report.

Aubrey: Thank you, Audi.

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