A record-breaking number of young children are testing positive for COVID at hospitals as the Omicron variant continues to ravage the country. Data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows an increase in the number of young children under four, who are not yet eligible for vaccination, who test positive while at the hospital. The data includes children who’ve been admitted to the hospital for other reasons and then tested positive for the virus. The number of kids testing positive in hospitals has doubled since a month ago, and is three times what it was a year ago. Meanwhile, the hospitalization rate of children aged 5 to 11 has remained stable over the past few months. Despite the increase, CDC officials noted that the severity of the disease hasn’t increased and children remain less at risk for severe illness than adults. “Sadly, we are seeing the rates of hospitalizations increasing for children 0 to 4, who are not yet currently eligible for COVID-19 vaccination,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC’s directory, said. “It’s critically important that we surround them with people who are vaccinated to provide them protection.”
