Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has shared startling news regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. During a recent press conference, Walensky told reporters that pediatric hospitalizations have increased at an alarming rate. According to CDC data, children under the age of four recorded 4.3 COVID-19 associated hospitalizations per 100,000 during the first week of January. In comparison, Children ages five to 17 had only 1.1 hospitalizations per 100,000 during the first week of the new year.
“Please, for our youngest children, those who are not yet eligible for vaccination, it’s critically important that we surround them with people who are vaccinated to provide them protection,” Walensky told reporters, according to The Hill.
“This includes at home, at day care and preschool and throughout our entire community.”
Vaccines are not advised for children under the age of four. However, they are available for adolescents between the ages of five and 17. According to recent data, 50% of children ages 12 to 17 are fully vaccinated and 16% of ages 5 to 11 are fully vaccinated.
Despite the recent uptick in hospitalizations, the CDC is working to provide students and educators with the “tools” needed to keep schools open “for the rest of the school year.”
“Our updated recommendations for isolation and quarantine, and our prior publications and continued assessment of test-to-stay protocols in schools, provide the tools necessary to get these schools reopened for in-person learning and to keep them open for the rest of the school year,” Walensky added, according to The Hill.
Meanwhile, two high schools in North Carolina have shut down bus services to combat COVID-19 outbreaks and at least 46 schools in Philadelphia have moved to remote learning. Not to mention, the Chicago’s Teachers Union remains on strike until safety measures are improved.
