About 6 in 10 children hospitalized for COVID from 2022 to 2024 had “at least one underlying medical condition, and less than 4% were current with their vaccinations,” according to new CDC-led research. CIDRAP has the news.
Data was analyzed from over 275 hospitals in 12 states across the U.S., and the researchers looked at outcomes such as ICU admission, need for mechanical ventilation, use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, and in-hospital death. Of the 2,490 children included in the study, 58.9% had “at least one chronic condition.” Among all of the participants, 25.2% were admitted to an ICU. Almost one third of the patients needed mechanical ventilation or a high-flow nasal cannula; 6.5% required mechanical ventilation; 6.8% received noninvasive mechanical ventilation; and 0.6% died in the hospital.”
The most common underlying illnesses seen in patients ages 2 years and older were “neurologic disorders, asthma, chronic lung disease except asthma, obesity, and feeding tube dependence.”
Only 3.8% of the children involved were “up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations. Among participants of all ages with two or more underlying illnesses, 94.5% weren’t up to date.” The study authors called for “increasing COVID-19 vaccination in children, especially among those at high risk for severe disease, to reduce pediatric hospitalizations and severe outcomes.”
