More children catching infection as Omicron increases in US

In recent weeks, hospitalisations of children under the age of five in the United States with COVID-19 have skyrocketed to their highest level since the pandemic began.

Children who are too young to be immunised against COVID-19 represent a concerning trend that highlights the importance of older children and adults getting their vaccinations to help protect those around them, said director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky in a statement on Friday.

Since mid-December, as the extremely contagious Omicron variety has spread quickly throughout the country. The hospitalisation rate among these youngest infants has risen to more than four in every 100,000 children, up from 2.5 in every 100,000 in the previous three months.

According CDC, the rate among children ages five to seventeen is around one in per 100,000, based on data from more than 250 hospitals in 14 states.

On the whole, Walensky added, "paediatric hospitalisations are at their greatest level compared to any other time in the epidemic."

She stated that approximately 50% of children aged 12 to 18 are fully vaccinated, with only 16 percent of children aged 5 to 11 being fully vaccinated.

It is still the case that the total hospitalisation rate among children and teenagers is lower than the rate among any other age group.CDC added that they account for fewer than five percent of typical new daily hospital admissions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the trend among very young children is being driven by high hospitalisation rates in five states: Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee, California, and Oregon, with the highest increases occurring in Georgia.

It is also possible that the increase is related to the way COVID-19 hospitalisations in this age group are defined: a positive virus test within 14 days of hospitalisation for any reason.

According to Dr. John McGuire, critical care chief at Seattle Youngsters's Hospital, the degree of illness among children during the Omicron wave appears to be less severe than it was during the Delta variation.