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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – In just a few days, the number of children hospitalized for COVID at UPMC Children’s has nearly doubled. That’s why doctors are urging everyone to wear a mask and get vaccinated if they are eligible, in order to lower those numbers as children return to school in the coming weeks.
“We had 50 hospitalizations in the last month, including 20 last week,” said Dr. John Williams, division chief of infectious diseases at UPMC Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh.
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Just days ago, Dr Williams said the number was 30 COVID hospitalizations in the past month and 11 last week.
Health experts say children of all ages are affected, and he fears the numbers will continue to rise if no action is taken.
“The only way to protect these young children under the age of 12 is for those of us over the age of 12 to get vaccinated and wear masks,” Dr Williams said, especially as the day approaches. school year.
“The decisions that those who run the policies of our schools, I want them to think of masking and distancing together as possibilities to keep people safe,” said the medical director of infection prevention and control. UPMC hospital epidemiology, Dr Graham Snyder.
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UPMC doctors shared this message during a press conference on Tuesday morning. While cases of COVID in children are even worse in other parts of the country, local doctors say that doesn’t mean we’re off the hook.
“Our goal should not be that we are not as badly off as Louisiana,” said Dr Williams.
Dr Williams said most of the children he sees hospitalized at the children’s hospital contract the virus from unvaccinated people in the community. He points out that they don’t get it once they’re in the hospital.
“We have learned not only at UPMC Children’s, but in all US hospitals over the past year with masks and PPE, there is virtually no spread of COVID in a hospital,” said the Dr Williams.
Just another example of why doctors believe students, teachers, and school staff in the area should wear masks when they return to school this fall, so kids can stay safe and secure. get the education and socialization they need at the same time.
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Dr Williams said for every child hospitalized with COVID at the Children’s, there were at least three or four more – if not more – tested positive for COVID and sent home with milder symptoms.
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