By Adrianna Rodriguez; USA Today
Children may be less likely than adults to be hospitalized with COVID-19, but a recent study found those who are still unvaccinated are suffering the worst consequences of the disease compared with their vaccinated peers.
Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at hospitalizations in 14 states among children aged 5 to 11 throughout the pandemic.
They found COVID-19-related hospitalization rates were about twice as high among unvaccinated children as those who were vaccinated during the omicron wave from December to February, according to the report published last week in the agency’s Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report.
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for kids 5 to 11 in November, but about two-thirds of the eligible population – approximately 18 million children – have yet to receive their first dose.
“COVID-19 is still an issue for kids,” said Dr. Emily Volk, president of the College of American Pathologists. “The assumptions that we had early on that children would not be severely affected by the virus need to be reconsidered with this new data.”
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