In Michigan, a record-breaking number of children have been hospitalized with Covid

Experts blame a more transmissible variant, which appears to be spreading faster among children and adults. Among the many alarming consequences of Michigan’s recent Covid-19 surge is one that has doctors particularly concerned: a record-breaking spike in child hospitalizations. Data from the Michigan Health & Hospital Association shows that the number of children hospitalized with severe Covid-19 symptoms hit a high of 70 this week — twice as many as were hospitalized during the worst days of the wave that swept the state in November. The numbers have public officials across the country watching Michigan, raising questions about why the B.1.1.7, or U.K., coronavirus variant behind the latest wave here is leading to more cases of children who are seriously ill. (…) Children’s risk of dying from the virus remains very low in the United States. The latest report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association shows that while children account for 14 percent of Covid-19 infections since the pandemic began, they represent a tiny fraction of deaths. But children now comprise a larger percentage of people getting infected than earlier in the pandemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics report shows that children accounted for 1 in 5 cases detected across the country during the second week of April. In Michigan, rates of child infections are now higher than they’ve been at any point in the pandemic. As of April 17, the 10-19 age group had the state’s highest rate of new cases, averaging more than 1,150 cases per day during the previous week. For children younger than 10, the average was 400 new cases per day.

via nbcnews: In Michigan, a record-breaking number of children have been hospitalized with Covid

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