The Omicron variant of Covid multiplies infections and the category most exposed to infections is the one with the least vaccination coverage or completely without immunization: children. “The little ones need to be protected because Covid-19 is becoming a pediatric disease” is the alarm sounded by Andrea Campana manager of the hospital’s Covid Center Baby Jesus of Palidoro (Rome) who, speaking of the situation of the beds in his center, underlines that “half are children under three months”.
Sentinel hospitals: in one week + 46% hospitalizations under 18
A trend that can be found reports from sentinel hospitals Fiaso (Italian Federation of Healthcare and Hospital Companies): in the week from 21 al 28 December have grown by 46% Covid patients under 18 and in the 4 pediatric hospitals and pediatric wards of the 21 sentinel hospitals, the number of hospitalized children increased from 45 to 66 (of which 3 in intensive care), an increase of 46.7% . Among the young patients, 56% are between 0 and 4 years old, while the remaining part of 44% are between 5 and 18 years old. None of the children over the age of 5 had been vaccinated with a full course.
Between the ages of 5 and 11, only 5.3% received a dose
Vaccination for the age group 5-11 years (Pfizer-BioNTech with a dose of about one third compared to the others, 2 doses scheduled for three weeks) started last December 16. According to the elaboration of Lab24, in this category the people who received the first dose are just under 200 thousand, equal to 5,3% of the total (between the ages of 12 and 19 the completely vaccinated are 72.7%).
Iss: surge in infections in recent weeks
A vaccine shield that is still not very widespread, which exposes children to the risk of contagion: “Starting from the second week of October, in the 6-11 year old age group there is a greater increase in the incidence compared to the rest of the school age population, with a surge in recent weeks “reads the latest bulletin of theHigher Institute of Health with integrated surveillance data. Translated into numbers: in the age group 6-11 there are about 50% of cases diagnosed in the population 0-19 years. Since the beginning of the epidemic, one third of infections in the population under the age of 20 (about one million) have been concentrated between 6 and 11 years of age.
Campana: half of the hospitalized under three months
But the virus doesn’t spare babies either. “In recent weeks” underlines the ISS there has been “an increase in the rate of hospitalization in the under three year group”. While reassuring that the disease does not present “greater severity” than in recent months and that “most of the infected do not need to be hospitalized”, Campana points out that now among the population infected with Covid “a quarter is in pediatric age “. In the Palidoro facility, he explains, most of the hospitalized children “are under 12 years old, many are under five because they have not been vaccinated. Reading my beds occupied at the moment, the oldest is 16 years old, there are two children of six days and others of months, half are children under three months ».