BEIJING, Jan. 1 (Xinhua) -- The mutation of the new coronavirus Olmikeron strain has spread rapidly in the United States, and the number of new hospitalizations for children with covid-19 has soared to a record level. Some medical experts say the high contagiousness of Omiqueron has led to more infections among children, and although the proportion of severe cases is low, children still need to be vaccinated faster to reduce their risk of disease.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the week ended December 28, 2021, the average number of new hospitalizations among COVID-19 patients aged 0 to 17 years increased by 66.1% from the previous week's average to 378, the highest number since the outbreak began.
On December 29, 2021, people lined up at COVID-19 testing points on the streets of New York, USA, waiting for testing. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
According to Reuters, in the week from December 5 to 11, 2021, the number of new hospitalizations for COVID-19 patients aged 18 and under in New York City was 22, while on December 19-23, 2021, the number of new hospitalizations in the same age group was 109, nearly half of whom were under 5 years old.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, in the week ended December 23, 2021, there were approximately 199,000 new children infected with COVID-19 in the United States, with a cumulative total of more than 7.56 million cases.
However, compared with the adult patient group, the proportion of severe cases in children with COVID-19 is still very low. The cumulative number of deaths of COVID-19 patients in the United States has exceeded 820,000, including more than 800 people in the age group of 18 and under.
Agence France-Presse quoted Jim Vesalovich, an expert in pathology and immunology at Texas Children's Hospital, as saying that similar to adult COVID-19 patients, the proportion of mild cases in children is higher. "Based on the data we have, Omilon is not causing more severe symptoms, but infecting more children, so we are seeing more children hospitalized," he said. ”
But Henry Bernstein, a pediatrician at Northwell Healthcare Hospitals in the United States, said that despite the low proportion of children suffering from severe illness, the total number of cases is large, and "the small share of large numbers is also a large number."
People wait to enter a COVID-19 testing and vaccination site near Times Square in the United States on December 7, 2021. (Photo by Xinhua news agency reporter Wang Ying)
Medical experts have called on children to be vaccinated as soon as possible. Vesalovich said that in his hospital, children with COVID-19 "have almost all not been vaccinated."
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccination rates for people aged 5 to 11 in the United States are low, with only 15 percent full vaccination rate, compared with 84 percent for people ages 12 and older.
In a report released on December 30, 2021, the CDC said that children aged 5 to 11 years who were vaccinated against COVID-19 "rarely" had serious adverse reactions.
The New York Times reported on December 30, 2021, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration intends to approve the vaccination of people aged 12 to 15 next week with booster injections. (Hui Xiaoshuang)