[World Now] Vulnerable to infants and toddlers? COVID-19 hospitalization rate soaring

[5세 미만 코로나19 감염 입원 50% 증가]

The number of hospitalized infants and toddlers in many countries where the COVID-19 omicron mutation is spreading is rapidly increasing, The Economist reported in the UK.

The Economist, citing its own analysis, said that since the advent of Omicron in the United States, the proportion of children under the age of 5 who contracted COVID-19 and required hospitalization has increased.

The ratio of hospitalized patients to confirmed patients in this age group in the 4th to 5th weeks of the last month was about 50% higher than in the two-week period before the Omicron mutation appeared.

In the UK, in the second week of this month, the hospitalization rate for children under the age of 5 was 14 per 100,000, the highest among those under the age of 55.

[오미크론 높은 전파력뿐 아니라 영유아에게 더 위험?]

The economist pointed out that this phenomenon can also be explained by the high propagation power of the omicron mutation, but this mutation may indicate a higher risk for children.

Because the infection and replication of the Omicron mutation mainly proceeds in the upper respiratory tract rather than the lungs or lower airways, the symptoms are mild for adults, but children with relatively narrow airways may be accompanied by symptoms such as shortness of breath.

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[저조한 백신 접종률 탓?]

The Economist also said that relatively low child vaccination rates could also explain the rise in hospitalization rates.

Currently, the age for vaccination is approved from the age of 5 and over, but the rate of completion of vaccination among the age group 5-11 is only 18%.

About 63% of the US population is currently vaccinated.

The World Health Organization WHO’s immunization advisory group, the Expert Strategic Advisory Group, diagnosed that in a study published on the 14th, in particular, the hospitalization rate for infants under one year old increased.

According to the analysis of the advisory group, from last month to the middle of this month, the proportion of children under one year old among children hospitalized after being confirmed with COVID-19 increased from 30% to 42%.

[증상은 비교적 경미, 입원 기간도 짧아]

However, compared to the previous mutation, the symptoms were not severe, such as cough and mild fever, and the length of hospitalization was reduced.

Earlier on the 7th, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that from mid-January to January 1 of this year, the number of hospitalized children under the age of 5 who tested positive for COVID-19 exceeded 4 per 100,000, doubling from a month ago. There is a bar.

At the time, there were no signs of an increase in the number of seriously ill, health officials said.

The economist adds that hospitalization data are volatile, so it’s not possible to assert that omicron mutations are more dangerous for children.