In the United States, there have been more hospitalizations of children and adolescents this summer. But the Delta variant would not cause more severe cases or deaths than other forms of the virus.
- In the United States the Delta variant has indeed led to more hospitalizations of children and adolescents
- In contrast, the number of severe cases and deaths in categories remained stable
The week of August 9 to 14, there were 1.4 Covid-19 hospitalizations per 100,000 children in the United States, compared to 0.3 between the end of June and the beginning of July, according to a study published by theThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)the main federal public health agency in the country. A much larger number than at the start of the summer, but which nevertheless remains below the maximum weekly rates for this year 2021 – i.e. 1.5 hospitalizations per 100,000 children – recorded in January.
In August, nearly 10 times more hospitalizations among children…
To arrive at this result, the researchers analyzed hospitalization data from 99 counties in fourteen states, or about 10% of the country’s total population. In detail, during the summer, hospitalization rates increased most sharply among children aged 4 and under. During the week of August 9-14, there were 1.9 hospitalizations per 100,000 children in this age group, almost 10 times more than at the end of June. Worse, in children and adolescents aged 0 to 17, they compared the period from the beginning of March to mid-June with that from mid-June to the end of July, when the Delta variant became dominant in the country. Results: the hospitalization rate for this age group was multiplied by five. Very worrying figures for the American authorities, who feared a link with the Delta variant.
….but no more serious forms or deaths
However, according to this study, the latter would not increase the risk of developing a serious form of the disease or of dying in children and adolescents because the figures observed would remain stable compared to previous periods, unlike hospitalizations. Among the 164 children and adolescents hospitalized from June 20 to July 31, 23.2% were admitted to intensive care, 9.8% had to be put on life support and 1.8% died. These numbers were roughly the same before the Delta variant went mainstream: approximately 26% of the 3,116 children and adolescents hospitalized during the three and a half months preceding the appearance of the Delta variant were admitted to intensive care, 6% were placed on a ventilator, and less than 1% died. However, the limit of this comparison is that the number of children with a severe case of the disease was much lower between mid-June and the end of July.
Vaccination protects against hospitalization linked to the Delta variant
The authors also studied the issue of vaccination in children and adolescents: it protects against the Delta variant. Indeed, the hospitalization rates were ten times higher among those who had no injection… In France as in the United States, doses of Pfizer or Moderna can be administered to them from the age of twelve.
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