Pediatric COVID-19 update: January 7, 2022 HOSPITAL ADMISSIONS – Key Takeaways
From the week of December 5-11, 2021 to the week of December 26, 2021-January 1, 2022, hospital admissions for or with COVID-19 among people aged ≤ 18 years increased more than 7-fold statewide (e.g. more than +700%, or an 8- times relative change), while those for all age groups combined increased only 2-fold statewide. Across the state, hospital admissions for or with COVID-19 increased approximately:
o 17-fold for those ≤ 18 years and 7-fold for all age groups in NYC,
o 8-fold for those ≤ 18 years and 3-fold for all age groups in mid-Hudson and Long Island, o 1.1-fold for those ≤ 18 years and 0.1-fold for all age groups in other regions of New York.
The increase in hospital admissions for or with COVID-19 is greater for children than for the population overall. In the most recent week, 54% of children ≤ 18 years admitted had no comorbidities and 70% were symptomatic.
During December 26, 2021 – January 1, 2022, among the 41% of children admitted with but not primarily for COVID-19, the most common reasons for admission were acute and chronic medical conditions. COVID-19 may have been an exacerbating factor contributing to the need for hospitalization, but the significance of the COVID-19 diagnosis cannot be determined from these data. Statewide, injury or trauma represented 2.1% of admissions with COVID-19 (only 12 out of the 571 admissions that week).
The large increases over time have been observed for children admitted both for COVID-19 and for other reasons, but with a positive COVID-19 result. In this time-period, New York City saw an 18-fold increase in admissions for COVID-19 (227 vs. 12) and 15-fold increase in admissions with COVID-19, but primarily for other reasons (158 vs. 10).
Analyses suggest the relatively greater increases in hospitalizations for children may be due to reduced vaccine coverage combined with modestly reduced vaccine effectiveness against hospitalization for children 5-17 years, and the absence of vaccines for children 0-4 years. Likewise, preliminary analyses suggest potential increased severity of the Omicron variant may also play a role in increasing rates of hospitalizations for children ≤11 years, relative to adults and children 12-17 years.
Notably, among children admitted to the hospital for or with COVID-19 during the week of December 20-26, 2021,
• 4% of 5 to 11 year olds were vaccinated and 91% were unvaccinated
• 26% of 12 to 17 year olds were vaccinated and 65% were unvaccinated.
ACTION: These observed trends in hospital admissions for and with COVID-19 among those ≤18 years of age highlight the need to redouble efforts to protect the health of our youngest New Yorkers. Vaccination of children remains a critical, highly protective strategy and should be combined with other measures to reduce exposure, such as mask wearing. Children ≤4 years of age are not currently eligible for vaccination. Therefore, additional protective measures remain important to safeguard their health during the current winter wave, including vaccinating, boosting and masking by those around them.
