Doctors feared more children would get hit hard by Covid-19 as the Delta variant stretches out across the country. And it’s happening just as the school year is getting started.
Since the last school year, a more contagious variant — Alpha — has been replaced by an even more contagious variant — Delta — as the dominant strain of coronavirus in the US.
Now, “child cases have increased exponentially, with over 750,000 cases added between August 5 and September 2,” the American Academy of Pediatrics said.
“What we’re seeing now is extremely concerning,” said Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “This virus is really going for the people who are not vaccinated. And among those people are children who don’t qualify for the vaccine and children and teens who qualify but are choosing not to get it.”
The latest statistics are as follows:
— 2,396 children were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Tuesday, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.
— An average of 369 pediatric Covid-19 patients were admitted to hospitals every day during the week ending September 6, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
— According to CDC data. More than 55,000 children have been hospitalized with Covid-19 since August 2020, Many of those children had no known preexisting conditions.
— Childhood Covid-19 deaths are rare, but that number is increasing. As of Wednesday, at least 520 children have died, according to CDC data.
Doctors say it’s critical to protect children against the Delta variant — not just for the sake of their health, but to preserve in-person learning and help prevent more aggressive variants from setting the entire country back.