Data from Europe and the US show more child admissions in recent days than any other pandemic wave.
Of course, experts stress that the vast majority of children are mildly affected and, by extension, serious cases are rare.
As the Financial Times reports, paediatric admissions in France are almost six times the previous high of August 2021, while case rates in children under 5 in England are three times higher than last winter's peak.
In particular, around 80 children under 5 are admitted to hospital every day in England since the previous record of 24 admissions last summer.
80 children under 5 are admitted to hospital every day in Britain[/B]
In the US, the under-5 hospitalisation rate is estimated at four per 100,000 population, up from 2.5 per 100 in December.According to Alasdair Munro, a paediatric specialist at the UK's National Institute of Health Research (NIHR), Covid-19 now mostly presents in children as a relatively typical respiratory infection. The difference is that Omicron "infects" children more easily, but cases come with mild symptoms that subside after a day, he said, adding that the main symptoms are cough and bronchiolitis.
In France, 73-80% of children under the age of 18 hospitalized with Covid-19 now have the Omicron variant, according to Santé Publique France.
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Experts' anxiety over first Omicron fingerprints in children
At the same time, experts are waiting to see if this particular variant increases the risk of multisystemic inflammatory syndrome in children, a rare but dangerous complication that can occur in children who are severely ill with Covid-19.
Scientific evidence suggests that it may take three to four weeks after infection for children to develop PIMS, making it too early to assess whether the Omicron variant may lead to an increase in such cases.
"We will know more in a few weeks and are working with our paediatric colleagues in the UK to look at their data," said paediatrician Gras-Le Guen."
At the same time, France's campaign to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 has got off to a slow start. Only 3% of children have been vaccinated because there were no vaccination centres that could accept children.
More admissions of children than adolescents in Britain
On the other hand, Britain saw 2,000 to 3,000 paediatric admissions from coronavirus in January.
"ICUs are not overcrowded for this time of year, whereas in a normal winter we would be talking about a peak period with children affected by other viruses," said Mark Peters, professor of paediatric intensive care at Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College.
Camilla Kingdon, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, noted that few teenagers were admitted, perhaps reflecting the fact that - unlike younger children - for whom the UK government has yet to approve a vaccination programme - more than half of teenagers aged 12 to 15 have been vaccinated.
Professor Kevin Munro warned that even Omicron could cause significant complications in children with other underlying diseases.
In the US, the steepest increases in hospitalisation for younger children were in Georgia, Connecticut, Tennessee, California and Oregon, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Coronavirus has "replaced" other seasonal illnesses
At Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania, the number of children hospitalized with coronavirus increased by 70-80% during the peak of the Omicron variant, which doctors said is now subsiding.
"The spectrum of illness reminds us of other seasonal illnesses we commonly care for - such as asthma and bronchiolitis. It's almost as if Covid has replaced some of the usual agents," said David Rubin, director of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
Yet few children will need to be admitted to an intensive care unit.
About a quarter of children ages 5 to 11 have received at least one dose of the vaccine in the U.S., according to the CDC, and about half of children ages 12 to 17 are vaccinated twice.
However, Richard Malley, a senior physician in the pediatric department at Boston Children's Hospital, said the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly among unvaccinated children and infants too young to get the vaccine.
Source: in.gr
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