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Updated December 27th, 2021 at 11:10 IST

New York witnesses jump in child COVID-19 hospitalisations as Omicron cases surge

Amid the spread of the new Omicron variant, New York health officials have warned of an “upward trend” in pediatric hospitalisations associated with COVID-19.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
New York
Image: AP | Image:self
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Amid the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, New York health officials have reported a surge in hospitalised children. According to LA Times, the New York State Department of Health on Friday warned of an “upward trend” in pediatric hospitalisation associated with COVID-19. It said that in New York City,  the health department has identified a “four-fold increase” in coronavirus hospital admissions for children 18 and under in recent weeks. As per the media outlet, half of the children being admitted to hospitals are younger than five and ineligible for COVID-19 vaccinations. Three-quarters of those ages 12 to 17 who were admitted into hospitals were not fully inoculated. 100% of those ages 5 to 11 who were admitted to hospitals were not fully vaccinated. 

Now, with the recent surge in COVID cases, California officials have said that they are monitoring the rise in child hospitalisations. California’s public health director and health officer, Dr Tomás Aragón, warned that state modellers are predicting hospital surges for the state. He said that Omicron is so contagious that it finds unvaccinated or non-immune people who are most vulnerable to hospitalisations and death. 

Aragón urged people to get inoculated and boosted, frequent testing, and consider skipping or postponing high-risk indoor gatherings. As per the media outlet, he also went on to suggest improving ventilation and air-filtration and improving the fit and quality of masks. 

Fauci urges people to avoid indoor gatherings 

It is to mention that number of coronavirus cases in the US is on the rise, with an average of nearly 190,000 new infections daily over the recent week. Amid the spread of Omicron strain, health experts have repeatedly urged people to upgrade their masks from cloth masks alone. Separately, over the weekend, Dr Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden’s chief medical advisor, has also urged people to not go to the kinds of indoor parties attended by dozens of people whose vaccination status is unknown. 

Fauci has said that it is safer for people to attend smaller-size gatherings with family and friends in homes where everyone is known to be vaccinated and boosted. He went on to say that recent data from the United Kingdom show that a lower percentage of newly infected people need hospitalisation. But he added that because Omicron is causing such a high volume of infections, the variant could find people who haven’t been immunised and could still result in hospitals becoming overwhelmed. 

Image: AP

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Published December 27th, 2021 at 11:10 IST

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