CA Pediatric COVID Hospitalizations: Where We Stand

CALIFORNIA — The omicron coronavirus variant has spurred a 35 percent increase nationwide in pediatric hospitalizations over the last week, according to new federal health data. However, in California, the data paints a less severe picture.

Two dozen states and New York City reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention an increase in pediatric hospitalizations — that is, children 17 and younger — as the virus surges nationwide.

In California, 5,746 children have been hospitalized for COVID-19 in California since August 2020. Since Dec. 12, hospitalizations have increased from 10 percent to 13 percent, according to CDC data.

Statewide, 42 children have died of complications related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

The biggest risk children face when contracting COVID-19, is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome, a condition that can damage multiple organ systems. As of Dec. 20, there have been 767 cases of this condition among kids in California, according to the state.

But California is doing better than other states. By comparison, in Georgia, new admission of patients 17 and younger with COVID-19 has increased from 14 percent on Nov. 29 to 42 percent of patients as of Dec. 25, according to CDC data. There were 10 COVID-19 patients in that age range between Dec. 19-25. There were 6 pediatric COVID-19 patients Dec. 12-18.

In Maryland, hospitalizations in this age group are up from 7 percent on Dec. 1 to 20 percent per 100,000 population for the week that ended Christmas Day.

California public health officials have urged that eligible children become vaccinated against coronavirus.

"Personally, I'm getting my own daughter, a 13-year-old, vaccinated so she can feel more confident and protected and spend some additional time with friends who she's increasingly seen over the last many weeks, but I know she has a lot of catching up to do," Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state's health secretary said in May.

The 199,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases reported nationwide for the week ending Dec. 23 represent a 50 percent increase in positive cases for that age group since the beginning of December. More than 7.5 million children — or about 1 in 10 in the United States — have tested positive for the virus since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.

This is the 20th week in a row with pediatric COVID-19 cases above 100,000. Since the first week in September, more than 2.5 million U.S. children have become infected with the coronavirus illness.

The spread of the illness among children is keenly felt in New York City, where the number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 increased fivefold. About half of those kids are under the age of 5 and not eligible to get vaccinated.

Related: NYC Sees Huge Spike In Children Hospitalized With COVID-19

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association, which susses out CDC data to provide insight into virus trends among children, said that so far, it appears that severe COVID-19 illnesses are uncommon.

“However,” the groups said on the AAP website, “there is urgent need to collect more data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as the longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.”

Experts warn the pediatric cases reported so far may be a calm before the storm brewing in holiday gatherings.

"It's almost like you can see the train coming down the track and you're just hoping it doesn't go off the rails," Dr. Claudia Hoyen, director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, told CNN.

"It's going to be a very interesting couple of weeks. We've just had all of these kids mixing together with everybody else during Christmas. We have one more holiday to get through with New Year's, and then we'll be sending everybody back to school.”