Peak COVID-19 pediatric hospitalizations in Florida

JACKSONVILLE, Florida – The number of COVID-19 pediatric hospitalizations in Florida is higher than anywhere else in the country, and it’s as high as at any time since the start of the pandemic, data shows.

Baptist Health said 10 children with COVID-19 were admitted on Sunday and four children with COVID-19 were admitted on Monday. As of Tuesday, according to Baptist Health, 16 COVID-19 patients were in Wolfson Children’s Hospital, including four in the intensive care unit.

Dr Mobeen Rathore, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Wolfson Children’s Hospital, said children with underlying health conditions and generally healthy children are hospitalized.

“Many of them are generally healthy children, but there are also children who have underlying health problems. Of course, they are the ones who get sickest and have a high risk of morbidity. But there are also children who are otherwise healthy, ”said Rathore.

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Looking at Florida as a whole, in the last two days of data released to the federal government, 118 pediatric patients have been admitted to a hospital with COVID-19.

Dr Adriana Cantville, a hospital pediatrician at UF Health Jacksonville, said children can experience a variety of symptoms ranging from congestion and diarrhea to the need for oxygen and IV fluids.

“Unfortunately, the whole family is affected, and it is not only the child who is sick, but we have sick parents, grandparents. Often times the whole household is affected, ”Cantville said.

News4Jax also spoke to Rathore and Cantville about the start of the new school year. They said the incubation period for COVID-19 is days or weeks, which means that if there are outbreaks in schools, there could be more hospitalizations in the coming weeks.

As for the ages of pediatric patients, doctors said they were of all ages, from infants to teenagers.

They also said the majority of children aged 12 and over in hospitals – who can be vaccinated – are not vaccinated.