FACT BRIEF

Have about 2,500 children been hospitalized with COVID-19 in each recent week in the US?

Sunday, September 12, 2021

By Lisa Freedland

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YES

According to Centers for Disease Control data, in the week ending Sept. 9, 2021, new hospital admissions of COVID-19 patients under 18 years of age averaged 350 a day, close to a pace of 2,500 weekly or 10,000 a month.

The latest week saw a slight decline from the previous week’s daily average of 371.

With schools in session and vaccines not yet approved for children under 12, parents, educators and health officials are paying close attention to the trend and the possible effect of the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19.

The pace reflects an increase in the proportion of people under 18 entering the hospital—which rose to 0.48 per 100,000 in September from 0.07 in early July. Overall, infected children remain much less likely to require hospitalization than adults; average new admissions for all age groups were 3.5/100,000 in week ending Sept. 9.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Centers for Disease Control COVID Data Tracker: New admissions by age group

CNBC Pediatric COVID hospitalizations surge to highest on record in US as doctors brace for more

American Academy of Pediatrics Children and COVID-19: State-level data report

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