HOUSTON — Doctors say more Houston children are being hospitalized because of COVID-19 symptoms alone, because the Delta variant is so contagious.
Dr. Michael Chang with UTHealth says most severe cases are among teenagers who are obese.
“However, we are seeing an increase in previously healthy children preteen or younger hospitalized for severe COVID illness. We’ve also seen some infants with severe COVID infection,” said Chang, MD, infectious disease pediatrician, UTHealth/UT Physicians and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital.
Overall, children are still less impacted than adults. Most experience mild or no symptoms. Dr. Katelyn Jetelina says they can definitely spread the virus, which is why she recommends masking in schools.
“What we’re seeing is one, hospitalizations continue to be the lowest among kids which is fantastic. The problem is we’re in a wave and kids aren’t protected from that wave,” said Jetelina, PhD, MPH, epidemiologist at UTHealth School of Public Health in Dallas.
Infants and older adolescents are most at risk. Memorial Hermann Hospital says 6% of all COVID-19 patients being treated at the TMC campus are pediatric patients.
“If you have a teenager that falls into these high risk categories – having underlying conditions or obese and you’re over 12 years old – the best thing you can do is get vaccinated. I know school is starting soon, but the sooner you can get vaccinated, the better,” Dr. Chang said.
Memorial Hermann issued this statement:
"Currently, children under 12 years old are ineligible for the COVID-19 vaccines and, as such, are vulnerable and unprotected. Young people are being hospitalized for COVID-19 in growing numbers, staying longer and are sicker than we have seen at any other time during the pandemic. At one point in recent weeks, pediatric COVID-19 patients made up nearly 20 percent of the total inpatient COVID-19 volume specifically at our Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center campus (not across our entire system). Today, that number is 6 percent of the overall COVID-19 volume at our TMC campus. However, when combined with the larger-than-usual number of RSV cases we are currently seeing, our pediatric ICU is continually operating at capacity. We are actively exploring creative solutions to quickly and safely expand our pediatric bed capacity, but the situation is serious. Please do your part in protecting our children so they do not require a hospital visit. Wash your hands, mask up and, most importantly, get vaccinated."