COVID-19 hospitalizations for children at MU Women and Children | Education K-12

The number of hospitalizations associated with pediatric cases of COVID-19 tripled over the summer at MU Hospital for Women and Children, from three in June to nine in August, according to MU Health Care.

Since May, the hospital has admitted 23 pediatric COVID patients, a “handful” of whom have been admitted to the pediatric ICU, MU Health Care spokesperson Eric Maze said.

The same trend was seen in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas, with 31 hospitalizations in St. Louis on September 1 and the Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City reaching capacity on August 31, according to the Associated Press.

“From my perspective, any COVID admission in a child is one too many,” said Amruta Padhye, pediatric infectious disease specialist at UM. “It’s just worrying that we are seeing this trend.”

The Missouri Foundation for Health released a “wake-up call” statement on behalf of pediatricians statewide on August 24. “Participating physicians from Missouri represent various hospital systems and different parts of the state, but all agree that the spike in pediatric COVID-19 cases is alarming and should be taken seriously,” the statement said.

Padhye said she and most medical officials identified the delta variant as the main cause of the flare. She highlighted the impact of back to school and also noted a parallel increase in the number of adults in Boone County.

“I think we are all getting ready to find out what the next few weeks will bring us,” said Padhye. “When there is an increase in the number of COVID cases in the community, we will also pick up an increased number of cases in school-aged children. Whether it’s because they started school or not, it’s a little hard to say right now.

In response to the outbreak, the CDC is advising schools to encourage vaccination and implement universal indoor masking for all students, staff, teachers and visitors, regardless of their immunization status.

Padhye, on behalf of herself and her colleagues, said she was discouraged by opposition to the use of the mask and vaccination.

“We know that vaccination works, and we know that masks work, and we know that children need to go to school,” Padhye said. “I can tell you from my experience that the children I have seen in the hospital are either vaccine-eligible children who have not received the vaccine, or they come from homes where the adults were not. vaccinated. … Since we do not have a vaccine for young children under 12, the only way to protect them, as well as the immunocompromised children, is to have the adults around them vaccinated.

Columbia / Boone County Health and Human Services continues to monitor the increase and is in constant contact with school districts across the county, Deputy Principal Scott Clardy said.

Columbia City Council discussed reinstating a mask mandate as an emergency order at its August 9 meeting, but the mandate was not passed in a 3-3 vote. Clardy said he was “not aware of any further discussions regarding any efforts to bring back a mask ordinance at this time.”

COVID isn’t the only virus on the rise in children lately.

Concerns have also grown around an impending outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus, commonly known as RSV.

Usually seen during the winter months, RSV is a common viral infection that usually causes mild symptoms, similar to those of the common cold. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially in the elderly and children under 1 year of age, for whom it is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia.

As of Sept. 11, there was a five-week average of 82 cases of RSV detected by rapid tests and 54 cases detected by polymerase chain reaction tests in Missouri, according to the CDC. This is compared to one case via rapid test and 20 cases via PCR test in the first week of June.

Although most children admitted to MU’s Women’s and Children’s Hospital with respiratory symptoms only tested positive for COVID or RSV, Padhye said there have been a few cases where children have tested positive for both.

In early June, the CDC issued a health advisory to inform clinicians of the increase in RSV, especially in parts of the southern United States.

Healthcare professionals are not sure why this increase in RSV is happening, but combined with COVID, Padhye said, it only increases concern.

“With RSV already strained or, you know, putting us on a high count, and on top of that, kids hospitalized with COVID, that’s not good news,” she said.

The general pediatric unit at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital had 27 out of 55 beds and the pediatric intensive care unit was 12 out of 13 on Friday. These patients can include COVID or RSV patients, but are not limited to either.

Although MU Health Care tracks patients associated with COVID, it couldn’t provide the RSV patient count with the same ease, Maze said.

Boone County Hospital’s status changed from yellow to green on Monday for the first time since June 29, indicating that hospitals are operating within their authorized bed capacity and accepting referrals from patients from other hospitals .