Source: Al Jazeera | Editor: SS Kurniawan
KONTAN.CO.ID – The Omicron variant that has gone crazy in the US has sent thousands of children under the age of 18 who were exposed to Covid-19 to hospitals for hospitalization. Here are the symptoms of the Omicron variant in children.
These conditions raise new concerns about how Americans under the age of 18 who are not vaccinated will experience a spike in Covid-19 cases in Uncle Sam’s country.
Doctors said the more severe symptoms of the Omicron variant, which they saw in children hospitalized this month, included difficulty breathing, high fever and dehydration.
“They need help breathing, they need help getting oxygen, they need extra hydration,” said Rebecca Madan, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at New York University Langone Health Hospital.
“They’re sick enough to end up in hospital, and that’s scary for doctors, and it’s scary for parents,” he said, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
Also Read: US Health Expert: Covid-19 Hurricane Spreads Wide and Fast Next Month
The average number of children hospitalized for Covid-19 between December 21 and December 27 jumped more than 58%, according to US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data.
The spike in cases of COVID-19 among children in the US came as schools were closed during the winter holidays.
The number of hospitalizations in children soared
However, doctors say, it is too early to determine whether the Omicron variant causes more severe disease in children. However, its very high transmission rate was one of the key factors driving hospitalization.
“It will infect more people. We’ve seen numbers go up, we’ve seen hospitalizations in children go up,” said Dr Jennifer Nayak, an infectious disease expert and pediatrician at the University of Rochester Medical Center.
Also Read: Tsunami still hits, France records 200,000 Covid-19 cases for the second day
