During the week of December 22-28, an average of 378 children under the age of 17 were admitted to coronavirus hospitals, up 66% from last week, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The previous maximum during the pandemic was recorded in early September, when the number of hospitalizations of children averaged 342 per day.
Two months after approval of vaccinations for children aged 5 to 11, about 14% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. This rate is higher among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years and is about 53%.
A CDC study confirmed that serious side effects from Pfizer vaccine are rare in children aged 5 to 11. The findings were made after 8 million doses were administered to adolescents.
Dr. Albert Coe, professor of epidemiology and infectious diseases at the Yale School of Public Health, noted that low vaccination rates are partly a matter of time: young children were only approved for the vaccine in November, and many are only now receiving a second dose.
Overall, the number of new cases of COVID-19 in Americans of all ages has skyrocketed to its highest level ever.
However, there are indications that Omicron is causing milder effects than previous strains, and that the combination of vaccine and booster protects people from worse effects.
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