Weekly COVID-19 hospitalization rate among children in the U.S. rose rapidly from late June to mid-August, with the risk of hospitalization nearly 10 times higher among unvaccinated children, according to the CDC's Sept. 3 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
The report was based on information from the Coronavirus Disease 2019- Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network database.
Six notes:
1. For the week ending June 26, the hospitalization rate per 100,000 children was 0.3. By Aug. 14, it rose to 1.4, marking a nearly five-fold increase.
2. The increase was highest among younger children, with the rate rising nearly 10 times for those ages 0-4 across the same six-week period.
3. The hospitalization rate among unvaccinated adolescents aged 12-17 was 10 times higher compared to those who were fully vaccinated.
4. The rise in child hospitalization rates coincided with a surge in cases of the highly contagious delta variant, according to the report.
5. "The proportions of hospitalized children and adolescents with severe disease were similar before and during the period of delta predominance," the CDC said.
6. Children under the age of 12 should wear a mask in indoor public spaces, the report recommended. Those over the age of 12 who are eligible for the vaccine should receive it.