Elementary school children seeing critically ill children contract COVID; Utah confirms 2,165 new cases

SALT LAKE CITY – As doctors recognize COVID-19 typically causes minor symptoms in children, officials at Primary Children’s Hospital say they are grappling with an influx of patients with coronavirus and other respiratory infections – often at the same time.

A teenage patient died in hospital last week from COVID-19.

“It was absolutely devastating for the staff here,” Dr Andrew Pavia said at a press conference on Thursday.

Pediatric infectious disease expert and director of hospital epidemiology at Primary Children says children’s hospitals nationwide – including Utah’s only children’s hospital – are “filled to the brim” and functioning with the most extreme peak capacity. This includes placing two children in each room and canceling major surgeries to make room in the intensive care unit, Pavia said.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, Utah health officials reported 2,165 new cases of COVID-19 – the most in a single day since January 26 – and 10 new deaths.

School-aged children accounted for 544 of the cases – 231 of the cases were between 5 and 10 years old, 152 cases were between 11 and 13 years old and 161 cases were between 14 and 17 years old, according to the Department of Health of the ‘Utah.

The seven-day moving average for new cases is 1,431 per day, and the percent positivity rate of those tested is 12.3%.

As of Thursday, 516 patients were hospitalized with the coronavirus across Utah, 33 more than the day before. Benchmark intensive care units, which can treat the most serious patients, are 92.5% full and overall intensive care utilization is now 88.2%. Beds in non-intensive units statewide are 63.1% full.

In the United States, the number of children infected with COVID-19 in the past week was 250,000, more than at any time during the pandemic, he said, leading to a change behavior, according to Pavia.

The proportion of cases among children in Utah is increasing “even faster,” he said. Last winter, 12% of cases of children on average. Today it is 25%, “despite the fact that it is very difficult to get your children tested,” the doctor said.

People “very much believe” that most children will only have mild illness, but whenever a child becomes ill a parent has to stay home after work, siblings are put in. 40s and a child misses a week of school. , Pavie noted.

“So these mild illnesses are not trivial as people like to describe them. They have a huge impact,” he said.

And a small minority of children get really sick, he said, noting that 30,000 children across the United States were hospitalized last week for the disease.

The tension in the primary children’s hospital is not due to COVID-19 itself, but a combination of it with seasonal cases of RSV and trauma. The coronavirus is the “camel’s back-breaking straw in the healthcare system,” Pavia said.

Jacob Ferrin, RN in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Primary Children’s Hospital, noted that the regional hospital is seen as a “last line of defense” for children not only in Beehive State, but between Denver in Los Angeles and Phoenix in Canada.

In critical cases of adults, this is often due to age-related health issues, Ferrin said. But for children, either something is “poorly constructed” or something has happened to put them at greater risk.

Children hospitalized with inflammation from other viruses sometimes also contract COVID-19, extending their stay in intensive care, Ferrin said.

“When kids have so much inflammation in their body, everything hurts. Their eyes can get very red, it hurts when you touch their arm,” he said.

The nurses who work in the Pediatric ICU “are very aware of our mission and who we serve. Since becoming part of the team, I feel like part of one of the best clinical and social teams that I have We help patients and families cope with the situations that come their way. The worst days of their lives come, and since the start of the pandemic we’ve seen a dramatic increase in the number of people having the worst day of their lives, “Ferrin explained.

The hospital experiment takes its toll on parents as their children are isolated to protect cancer patients and others at higher risk of infection, he said.

While most children who contract the coronavirus will be “fine,” Ferrin pleaded with the Utahns to take the disease seriously to help healthcare workers.

Pavia urged everyone who spends time with the children, including parents, teachers and loved ones, to get the vaccine.

“Another thing that we know works is the mask in schools… and we take it very personally when people tell us it doesn’t work, or when people tell us masks are a choice. personal, ”he said, comparing it to managing a brake light.

He called on residents to help hospitals protect their ability to care for children with cancer or injured in car crashes.

Health workers have administered 19,255 vaccines since the previous day’s report, bringing the total number of vaccinations given in Utah to 3,315,722, according to the Utah Department of Health.

In the past 28 days, unvaccinated residents faced 4.7 times the risk of dying from COVID-19, 6.2 times the risk of being hospitalized from COVID-19, and 5.4 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than those vaccinated. As of February 1, unvaccinated people are 5.3 times more likely to die from COVID-19, 5.2 times more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19, and 4.5 times more likely to die from COVID-19. test positive for COVID-19 than those vaccinated.

The latest deaths reported Thursday:

• A woman from Salt Lake County between the ages of 65 and 84, who was hospitalized after her death.
• A Utah County man, 25-44, hospitalized.
• Two Washington County men, 65-84, hospitalized.
• A Davis County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
• A Weber County man, 65-84, hospitalized.
• A Weber County woman, 25-44, hospitalized.
• Washington County woman, 65-84, hospitalized.
• A woman from Duchesne County, 45-64, hospitalized.
• Salt Lake County female, 45-64, unknown hospitalization or long-term care facility status.