Omicron Hospitalization Doubled in Unvaxxed Children--CDC

Unvaccinated children ages 5 to 11 were more than twice as likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19 during the Omicron wave, and nearly a third of hospitalized kids overall had no underlying medical conditions while about a fifth required intensive care unit (ICU) admission, researchers found.

From Dec. 19, 2021 to Feb. 28, 2022, a total of 19.1 per 100,000 unvaccinated children this age were hospitalized for COVID-19 versus 9.2 per 100,000 vaccinated kids, reported Dallas Shi, MD, PhD, MBA, of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues.

Of the 397 children hospitalized with COVID during this period, 30% had no preexisting conditions, 19% were admitted to an ICU, and 87% were unvaccinated, they wrote in an early edition of the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. ...