One COVID Pediatric Death Reported In CA Since Beginning Of 2022

CALIFORNIA — Since the beginning of the year, there has been one reported pediatric death associated with a COVID-19 infection in California, the state's health department told Patch.

In total, 49 children under the age of 18 have died with a confirmed COVID-19 infection in the last two years. At least 17 of them were under 5 years old, the only age group not yet eligible for the vaccine.

In early January, hospitalizations of children under 18 with COVID-19 in the U.S. climbed to their highest levels on record yet. Many have other conditions made worse by COVID-19, though many aren't sick enough to require intensive care.

"It’s true, kids in general do better than adults with COVID," said Dr. Elizabeth Murray, a pediatric emergency medicine physician in Rochester, New York, and a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics, "but ‘not too sick’ still can mean miserable with fevers and muscle aches for a week. It can also mean MIS-C or long COVID."

MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome, is a rare but serious condition that is sometimes caused by COVID-19. The condition can compromise many organs and typically requires hospitalization.

Experts generally don’t believe omicron is causing more serious illness in children and adults than other variants, and say hospitalization rates are up partly because it is so much more contagious.

Some children have been admitted for conditions such as lung disease, diabetes and sickle cell disease that have worsened because of an omicron infection, doctors say.

READ MORE: Vaccine Mandate Proposed For CA Schoolchildren: Readers Weigh In

The worrisome trend in children too young to be vaccinated underscores the need for older kids and adults to get their shots to help protect those around them, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What's more, children under five have recently been hospitalized with COVID-19 at record breaking rate, federal data shows.

But some experts have pointed out that many of the reported COVID-19 hospitalizations are actually children being checked into a hospital for another reason and just happen to test positive amid the omicron variant's rapid spread.

"Although many patients are COVID positive — so they’re placed in the unit under precautions — they’re here for a different reason," Dr. Laurie Bernard Stover told the Los Angeles Times. "COVID isn’t the primary reason for admission; it’s more of an incidental finding."

Still, officials are urging parents to vaccinate their children to help slow the rapid rate of spread.

In California, just 24.1 percent of children 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated. For those aged 12 to 17, 64 percent are fully vaccinated, according to the state.

Some of the state's legislators are pushing for new laws that would ramp up child vaccination mandates for schoolchildren. One bill proposal outlines a plan to do away with parents ability to opt out of vaccinating their children based on personal beliefs.

The bill would require all schoolchildren in grades K-12 to become vaccinated and it would override Gov. Gavin Newsom's vaccination mandate for schoolchildren, which would not take effect until after federal officials fully approve shots for children ages 12 and up. In the interim, an emergency order allows authorization for ages 5 to 15.

The bill was introduced by State Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) earlier this week.

Pan's bill is the second piece of vaccine-related legislation to be proposed this month. Last week, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced SB 866, which allows children 12 years and older to become inoculated without parental consent.

"Giving young people the autonomy to receive life-saving vaccines, regardless of their parents' beliefs or work schedules, is essential for their physical and mental health," Wiener wrote in a statement.

SEE ALSO: CA Vaccination Requirement For All School Children Under New Bill

The Associated Press contributed to this report.