Reuters has reported that 1,900 children have been hospitalized because of the coronavirus, the highest number since the pandemic began in early 2020. The report adds that hospitalizations among the following age groups have also hit record highs: 19-29, 30-39 and 40-49. Unfortunately, health officials are worried that things could get worse.
“We are also seeing a sharp rise in the number of pediatric cases, both unvaccinated kids and vaccinated kids who are getting COVID from this new delta variant. How bad could that spike in pediatric cases get?” FOX News Sunday host Chris Wallace asked.
“That’s very worrisome. I think traditionally people kind of considered, ‘Well, you know, kids aren’t going to get that sick with this.’ More than 400 children have died of COVID-19. And right now we have almost 2,000 kids in the hospital, many of them in ICU, some of them under the age of four,” NIH Director Francis Collins answered.
At this time, no COVID-19 vaccine in the U.S. has been approved for children under the age of 12 years old. As COVID-19 cases amongst children continue to rise and schools reopen, the nation faces major questions regarding the pandemic’s impact on young children.
“So anybody who tries to tell you, ‘Well, don’t worry about the kids, the virus won’t really bother them,’ that’s not the evidence. And especially with delta [variant] being so contagious, kids are very seriously at risk,” Collins continued.
“And it’s up to all of us to do everything we can to protect them, as well as we’re trying to protect everybody else at the same time.”
