It should be noted that the majority of children who catch Covid -- have parents who are not vaccinated.
TORONTO -- A scary rise in pediatric COVID-19 cases in parts of the United States, with children hospitalized, some in ICU and on respirators, is causing fear among Canadian parents. With fall approaching and the reopening of schools on the horizon, experts are looking to pin down the cause of the increase in cases among children in the U.S. and whether or not Canada could see the same increase. The number of children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the U.S. hit a record high of just over 1,900 on Saturday, as hospitals across the south were stretched to capacity fighting outbreaks caused by the highly transmissible Delta variant. Related Stories Virus claims more young victims as U.S. deaths climb yet again Younger children may be more likely to transmit COVID-19, study says 3 Florida educators died within about 24 hours from COVID-19 complications Children currently make up about 2.4 per cent of the U.S.’s COVID-19 hospitalizations. Dr. Marcos Mestre, chief medical officer of Nicklaus Children’s Hospital in Miami, told CTV News that they’re seeing more patients now than they saw in the last big wave that hit the city in 2020. “Our past high was in July, where we had 116 patients that were admitted to the hospital, in July of 2020,” he said. “This month we're on track to see approximately 150 to 160 patients. “We're definitely seeing an increase in visits to our emergency departments and our urgent care centres, and we're also, secondary to that, seeing an increase in hospitalizations for children, which could be as young as two weeks of age to as old as 20 years of age.” In some regions, infants are being airlifted to other hospitals as some pediatric ICU's run over capacity due to a combination of injuries, other respiratory illnesses and COVID-19 cases. In Missouri, 14-year-old Marianna is among the growing number of teens and children in hospital with COVID-19, because she chose to skip vaccination available to those aged 12 and older. Those younger than 12 are not eligible to receive a vaccination right now. A recent study that looked at more than 6,000 households in Ontario has suggested that children under 12 may be more likely to transmit the virus. “Just to give you an idea of all the positive tests that we've had [at the children’s hospital] in the past couple of weeks, about 75 per cent of them are in children under 12,” Mestre said. Doctors suspect the more contagious Delta variant is at work in the increase of COVID-19 cases among children. But another factor is vaccination. Mestre said that they’ve seen children hospitalized because they were infected by an unvaccinated parent. “So that's always frustrating as a caretaker, especially when you're dealing with children, that they may not have a say.” In many cases, the children who are hospitalized have health problems or risk factors that could contribute to a more severe case. “Those that are obese or overweight tend to have the highest risk factors in terms of requiring hospitalizations and requiring more intensive services once they're hospitalized,” Mestre said. He added that children generally do better than adults when they contract the virus, with much lower mortality. But children with risk factors such as diabetes or asthma are more at risk and require more support in the hospital. And increasingly, reports of long-haul COVID- in children are causing concern. While children may be significantly less likely to die if they contract the virus, there have been reports of children plagued by lingering symptoms, some of which can be severe. And the phenomenon is not well understood right now, making it hard to know who is at risk of developing it. A fifth of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the U.S. are in Florida currently. The state hit a record number of 16,100 hospitalized patients on Saturday, according to Reuters. The U.S. as a whole has been seeing an average of 129,000 new cases per day. The increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases has caused some school districts in Florida to impose mask requirements, going against Gov. Ron DeSantis’s orders to ban districts from mask requirements. “Never let your guard down,” Mestre said. “That's something that, when we were in June here in Miami, we were thinking about loosening some of the restrictions that we had and then we got hit by the Delta variant.” Parents and doctors in Canada are nervously watching the situation with pediatric COVID-19 cases south of the border. But it may not necessarily be Canada’s future. DOES THIS MEAN ANYTHING FOR CHILDREN IN CANADA? Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist in Edmonton, told CTV News that there are key differences between the situation in Canada and the U.S. “Our vaccination rates are higher, our vaccination rates among young people are higher, and our transmission rates are, in most places, much, much lower than they were,” Saxinger said. “So it's more of a yellow flag, I think, that it has to be watched very carefully, but it by no means implies that that's what's going to happen here.” In Florida, around half of the population is fully vaccinated, while around 61 per cent have received at least one dose of the vaccine. A little over half of the population in the U.S. as a whole are fully vaccinated as well. In Canada, as of Saturday, 72 per cent of the eligible population are fully vaccinated. Saxinger pointed out that we have not seen a huge boost in pediatric cases of COVID-19 recently in Canada. “It's very important to be cautious and watch carefully, but at the moment I think that there's been a little bit of a shift in people's perception that might not really be needed at this point,” she said. “It's still unclear actually whether Delta itself is more dangerous for kids or if in fact the high transmission under certain circumstances is an issue.” She added that there are “so many different variables going on” in each region, making it hard to directly apply what is occurring in places such as the U.S. to Canada. “For a parent, I think it's actually probably most important to look at what's happening in your community, and in your network, if you have a highly vaccinated network and the community spread remains very low, I think that the spectre of Delta is much, much more distant for you and your family than it would be in some places that we're getting news about.” Some parents are eagerly looking forward to vaccines being cleared for children younger than 12 years. But it’s a process that can’t be rushed. “The bar has to be very high for safety in that age group because that group has very, very low rates of significant illness and significant outcomes from COVID,” Saxinger pointed out. “And so we have to make double, double, double sure that the vaccine is safe and effective in that group.” She doesn’t doubt that the vaccine will be proven safe and effective for younger children, but it’s important to have that certainty, especially when treating a population that is less at risk from the virus. “We do have to make sure that we have that data before making a recommendation, and that once it's available it will really increase people's comfort level in terms of what their kids can and cannot do,” she said. “Until that time, it's very clear from elsewhere that if we vaccinate all of the adults, the kids are significantly protected and if we keep community transmission low, the kids are protected. So I think that combination is really what we're looking at for the fall.” Mestre agrees that vaccination is urgently important right now. “One of the things that we're pushing for here in Florida, Miami in particular, is vaccination of those that are eligible to receive the vaccine. So anybody 12 years of age and older, we highly recommend that they receive the vaccine and especially if they have any of those risk factors,” he said. “Already right now we're seeing our children go into school, we're starting the school year here in Florida, so we are keeping a close eye on things and seeing how that affects the transmission rates just given that the Delta variant is so contagious.” Doctors say that in the U.S., children are recovering after being treated with treatments that work in adults. Still, U.S doctors say it is not time to let the guard down, as they keep an eye on what happens when Delta spreads and schools reopen. https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coron...in-the-u-s-have-canadians-concerned-1.5549781 wrbtrader
Is the southern US the only place on earth where there are unvaxxed and where a potential variant could happen? If the answer is no, your whole post is literally hyperbolic fearmongering and political propaganda. Why in the hell would you make such a stupid statement? Currently, only 24.6% of the entire fucking world is fully vaxxed. So, why in the hell if we don't get people fully vaxxed only in the southern US will there be an increase probability of a new variant of concern? You must have been a terrible professor.
Seriously, stop with the vaccine propaganda. Just wear the damn face mask if parents are not interested in getting vaccinated as a way to protect their children who are not able to be vaccinated. Unfortunately, some of the Governors in the southern states have banned face masks from schools even with the record breaking Covid children hospitalizations. A few have taken it a step further by stating they will stop funding to schools that have decided to let the parents decide if their children want to wear face masks. Delta Variant is just getting started...its waiting for schools to re-open. #purestupidity You Reap What You Sow By the way, I never taught Immunology, Virology nor Genetics. I did study them in college. wrbtrader
Study counts COVID-19 pediatric hospitalization cases to help states prepare for future January 13, 2021 Early evidence with COVID-19 suggests that children are less susceptible to infection and have a lower risk for symptomatic and severe disease. However, pediatric patients are not immune from the virus and can become dangerously ill from it. New research from the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (SPH) and Carlson School of Management highlights the need to be prepared to treat children for COVID-19 by showing that hospitalization rates for pediatric cases can differ widely by state. The study was led by SPH Ph.D. student Zachary Levin and published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The research was co-authored by a team at the Carlson School led by Professor Pinar Karaca-Mandic. The study team used data collected by the University’s COVID-19 Hospitalization Tracking Project, a joint effort by the Carlson School’s Medical Industry Leadership Institute (MILI) and the Management Information Systems Research Center. Researchers examined pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization trends in 22 states that reported cumulative COVID-19 hospitalizations overall and for patients 19 years and younger (in some states younger than ages 17 or 14) between May 15 and November 15, 2020. “We have been collecting hospitalization data since mid-March, and we were able to look at hospitalizations specific to children as soon as a handful of states started reporting the age break-down of hospitalizations,” says Karaca-Mandic, the senior author of the study. “We were quite surprised to see that there were significant pediatric hospitalizations occurring,” says Levin. “We expected some variation, but there were states with relatively high rates of pediatric hospitalizations.” The researchers found: Over the study period there were 5,364 pediatric hospitalizations in the 22 states. At the beginning of the study, the average cumulative hospitalization rate per 100,000 children was 2.0, increasing to 17.2 by the end of the study. There were large variations across states at the beginning and end of the study and in the extent of change in rates. For example, at the start of the study, Hawaii and Rhode Island had the lowest pediatric hospitalization rates at 0.0 per 100,000 children. New Jersey and Colorado had the highest at 5.0 and 4.4. At the end of the study, Hawaii and New Hampshire had the lowest rates at 4.3 and 3.4, respectively, and South Dakota and Arizona had the highest rates at 33.7 and 32.8 per 100,000 children. Several states saw significant growth in three months, with Utah experiencing a 5,067% increase from 0.3 hospitalizations to 15.5 per 100,000 at the high end, compared with 42% increase from 2.4 to 3.4 per 100,000 in New Hampshire. “We’re ultimately talking about small numbers of patients, but it’s still important to understand because there are many hospitals that aren’t set up to provide the special equipment and care needed for pediatric patients,” says Levin. “State health officials who are doing resource planning should pay particular attention to the findings, particularly as health systems prepare for or encounter hospital capacity issues.” The team also includes Carlson School Associate Professor Soumya Sen, Carlson School Executive-in-Residence Archelle Georigou, MILI program administrator Kim Choyke and a team of University students who scrape hospitalization data from public state records to reveal and analyze trends in facility use and care. https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-ev...pitalization-cases-help-states-prepare-future ---------- I don't think the Governors of the southern states got the Covid memo. wrbtrader
11-month-old girl with COVID-19 airlifted from Houston to Temple hospital recovering at home, family says HOUSTON – The family of little Ava is grateful she’s finally back home. The 11-month old girl was recently diagnosed with COVID-19 and was initially taken to Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital in Houston. “I was just like how did this happen. Where could she have gotten it from?” said her mother, Estefani Lopez. The family said due to her worsening condition she needed pediatric care that wasn’t offered at LBJ. Her mother said she was worried. RELATED: ‘Internal disaster’: Lyndon B. Johnson Hospital blames surge in COVID cases, shortage of nurses for longer ER wait times “I was already too scared that she had a seizure and they told me she has COVID. Then, I’m just like: ‘What is going on with my baby? What is going on with the world right now?” explained Lopez. With no major pediatric hospitals in the Houston area with beds available, doctors transferred Ava by life-flight over 150 miles away to a hospital in Temple. “I was just in shock that there was like no beds, like not even one bed for her. I was like in so much disbelief,” Lopez said. Her family said little Ava has since done a complete turnaround and was only at the hospital for a day. She was well enough to come back home and continues to recover. RELATED: Nurse shortage meets COVID-19 surge at Houston hospital “Now she’s back to her normal self. She still has a little cough and some boogers that are running but she’s still so happy and stuff and that’s a great part,” Lopez said. Her mother’s message to other parents about children catching covid - take every precaution you can to help keep them safe. “You just really have to be careful about who you bring your child around and where are you take your baby,” she said. https://www.click2houston.com/news/...mple-hospital-recovering-at-home-family-says/ ---------- Fortunately, Covid hospitalized children can recover fast assuming they get proper medical care. They recover much easier than Covid hospitalized young adults. wrbtrader
Pfizer's CEO tell us why he thinks we'll need COVID-19 vaccines every year, like flu shots https://www.businessinsider.com/pfi...redicts-annual-covid-19-boosters-shots-2021-8 People will most likely need annual COVID-19 booster shots, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla told Insider. It's another sign that we'll be dealing with the novel coronavirus for years to come. The pharma exec highlighted the risk of new variants emerging and vaccine protection waning. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla predicted in a Wednesday interview that people will most likely need annual COVID-19 booster shots, a sign that we'll be contending with the novel coronavirus for years to come. Speaking with Insider by phone, Bourla acknowledged the uncertainty around his guess. But he said he believes regular vaccinations will be needed because of the potential for new variants to emerge and vaccine protection to wane over time. "The most likely scenario is we will be needing annual re-vaccination, as we do with the flu vaccine," Bourla said. Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine, which was co-developed with the German biotech BioNTech, is on track to be one of the pharmaceutical industry's best-selling drug of all time in 2021. Pfizer estimates the vaccine will generate $33.5 billion in revenue this year. Bourla's view on the long-term role of booster shots and the pandemic comes as his company started to submit data to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday for its booster shot. US health officials said earlier this month that they plan to start offering boosters in September, but the FDA first needs to review and approve the applications from each company. Bourla's remarks are a sign that the novel coronavirus will likely be with us forever, with people learning to live with the virus and minimize its damage. Experts think the pandemic may stretch into 2023, Insider Health Correspondent Hilary Brueck recently reported. Beyond then, virologists think it's likely the virus will become endemic, meaning it will still be present but less of a constant threat. One of the largest investor debates around COVID-19 vaccines has been whether or not demand for COVID-19 shots will fade over time, or if people will need to get them regularly. If booster shots turn into a long-lasting business, that could pump billions of dollars of revenue into vaccine-makers like Pfizer and Moderna for years to come. So far, no company has fully submitted its booster shot for emergency use authorization. Pfizer said it expects to finish submitting by the end of this week. Over the last few months, Pfizer and Bourla have argued that an initial booster shot would likely be needed six to 12 months after initial vaccination. The broader booster shot plan is still controversial. Some virologists and vaccine experts have said the extra shots aren't yet needed. Global-health advocates, including leaders of the World Health Organization, have criticized the plan given the lack of access to first doses for many low- and middle-income countries.
its should be noted that you pulled that shit out your ass and lied again. no way anyone knows how many kids have caught delta already .. and the vast majority of kids are unvaccinated.
NC DHHS: Unvaccinated people 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/dh...es-more-likely-to-die-from-covid-19/19845633/ People who haven't been vaccinated against coronavirus are 15.4 times more likely to die from COVID-19 as those who have gotten their shots, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. The statistic, which covers the four weeks that ended last Saturday, shows the virulence of the Delta variant of the virus in North Carolina. A week ago, DHHS had reported the relative mortality rate as 4.6 percent for the four-week period that ended Aug. 14. Among people younger than 65, only one person who had been vaccinated died from COVID-19 during the most recent four-week period, compared with 29 unvaccinated people, officials said. Among those older than 65, seven vaccinated and 30 unvaccinated people died during the period. "The vast majority of people dying with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. If you are not vaccinated, please don’t wait until it is too late," DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said in a statement. "The authorized and approved vaccines have been through rigorous clinical trials and met scientific standards. Millions of North Carolinians have been safely vaccinated." Since the beginning of the year, 7,259 people have died across the state from COVID-19; only 150 of them were vaccinated, officials said. The Delta variant has led to a rapid increase in virus-related deaths in North Carolina in recent weeks. Forty-seven were reported Friday, and the state has been averaging 38 a day for the last week. COVID-19 hospitalizations have also increased for 11 straight days and are nearing the peak reached in January. Even short of that peak, the state hit highs on Thursday with 912 COVID-19 patients in intensive care and 574 on ventilators. Only 13 percent of ICU beds and 20 percent of general hospital beds are available in North Carolina, according to DHHS statistics. North Carolina topped 8,000 new infections both Thursday and Friday, marking the first time back-to-back days have been that high in more than seven months. The state has averaged more than 6,100 cases a day for the last week.