Among them, some babies are less than two weeks old.
- Since July, the number of children testing positive has increased tenfold.
- According to the Pasteur Institute, children and adolescents will represent one in two contaminations at the start of the school year.
- Since mid-June, 12-17 year olds have been eligible for vaccination.
Covid-19 spares no one: for the past few days, infants have been hospitalized in a hospital in Nice. On France BlueDoctor Philippe Babe, Deputy Head of the Pediatric Emergency Department at Lenval Hospital, speaks of a “significant increase“. During previous waves of Covid-19, he estimates that he received around two children a week in his department, while in three weeks, between the end of July and the beginning of August, 25 children were hospitalized because of the virus. days, the pediatric emergency room welcomed two infants aged less than two weeks.
No very serious cases
Generally, these children do not develop serious symptoms, but their fragility makes hospital admission necessary. “Having a fever of 39 or 40, when you are 7 or 8 days old, requires hospitalization”says the doctor to France 3 Provence Alps French Riviera. No very serious cases were recorded in the emergency room of the hospital. On average, these young children stay five days in the hospital. According to the doctor, they all have one thing in common: their parents were positive for Covid-19. “Contamination probably took place within the family environment.he adds.
Alert parents and families
“Today, we see that this variant spreads the virus within a much younger population, therefore parents and, by extension, children“, continues the doctor. For Philippe Babe, these cases must alert families: it is absolutely necessary to respect barrier gestures and to be vaccinated. “If you get vaccinated, you have nine times less risk of transmitting“, he recalls at the microphone of France Blue.
What to do to protect babies?
In the weeks following the birth, it is also advisable to avoid crowded places, whether you travel with or without the newborn. At the end of July, the CHU of Saint-Etienne published a collection of recommendations for young parents. Health professionals invite them to reduce their trips outside to the strict minimum, to wear a mask in the event of infection, and not to put their child’s pacifier in their mouth. “Wash your hands before taking care of your baby but also aftersays the document. If you use a hydro-alcoholic solution, you must wait until your hands are dry before touching your baby.“On the other hand, a baby should never be made to wear a mask, remind the authors of the text. If the baby shows symptoms of Covid-19, such as cough, fever or difficulty breathing, he is it is imperative to call a doctor or any other health professional before traveling.In an emergency, dial 15.
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