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Over the past five weeks, the largest increase in new coronavirus cases has been reported among children aged 9 and under, according to Michigan data.
The number of confirmed cases among the youngest segment of the state’s population rose 3.5% from July 2 to August 9, according to data from the Department of Health and Human Services.
It comes as the highly contagious Delta variant rises in the state, the number of people seeking the COVID-19 vaccine has slowed, and children, mostly unvaccinated, will soon be returning to school.
In comparison, there was a 2.2% increase in the incidence of the virus among 20-29 year olds and a 2.1% increase in confirmed cases reported among 10-19 year olds. Residents aged 80 and older, who are much more likely to be immune to COVID-19, experienced the smallest percentage increase – 1.5% – during the same period.
Overall, children aged 0-9 make up a small number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 – 4% of Michigan’s total cases – and the age group has the lowest cases per million people across the state’s nine age groups. Less than 16% of Michigan coronavirus cases are associated with people 10 to 19 years old.
“We’re going up a bit,” said Dr Sandy Patel, a hospital pediatrician at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, of the child cases since early July.
Indeed, this summer, people are not taking the same steps to mitigate the spread that they did earlier in the pandemic, Patel said. The state has lifted mask requirements, and people have largely resumed their regular travel and activities.
Additionally, children under 12 are not eligible for vaccines and there are not many children who contracted COVID-19 last year, so they may not have the natural antibodies, a- she said Tuesday during a COVID update hosted by the hospital.
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Patel said patients present to the hospital with a wide variety of symptoms. These include fever, pneumonia, and heart or respiratory problems.
“So of course, as we know COVID… can masquerade as anything,” she said. It can affect any system in the body. Respiratory or gastrointestinal problems are the most common, she said.
She noted that about 1 in 1,000 pediatric patients who test positive for the virus are diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome. These children experience a “very mild clinical course,” then two to four weeks later they develop a fever and rash begins to present with organ dysfunction, Patel said. The heart, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs can become inflamed, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
These children are “coming down quickly” without prompt diagnosis and treatment, she said. “And that’s our fear.”
Most children with the condition, according to the CDC, improve with medical care.
Serious illnesses from COVID-19 are rare in children and rarely result in hospitalization or death, reports the American Academy of Pediatrics. Among reporting states, children made up 1.5% to 3.5% of total cumulative hospitalizations, according to the academy’s latest analysis of state data. In Michigan, 15 people between the ages of 10 and 19 have died. There are no deaths recorded among the 0-9s.
“However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including the ways in which the virus may adversely affect the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental, ”the academy said in an update this month.
He reported that as of August 5, nearly 4.3 million children in the United States have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic and that child cases have been on the rise since. beginning of July. From July 22 to August 5, there was a 4% increase in the cumulative number of child cases in the United States.
Because the Delta variant is much more contagious, it “will wreak more havoc” in any unvaccinated group, said Dr. Jonathan Baktari, CEO of Nevada-based e7health.com, who performs lab tests and suggests vaccines. If more people are infected, more people will have symptoms and severe illness. Additionally, children do not do as well as adults with wearing masks and maintaining separation from others. “It is very difficult for them to understand these concepts. “
Patel advocated for face coverings, social distancing and good hand hygiene to slow the spread of the virus. Eligible children – those 12 and older can receive the two-dose Pfizer vaccine – must be vaccinated, said Patel, who has taken his own children to be vaccinated.
“I looked around the room and thought… it’s not just for my kids. It’s for my community. I don’t want my kids spreading this in the community. I don’t want a variant that exists because of the increase in numbers. “
Patel said 90% of pediatric patients have done well with the vaccine. They have minimal side effects including muscle pain, headache, or fever. “Maybe a few days they’re a little cranky.”
She and Dr Matthew Sims, director of infection prevention research at Beaumont, urged parents to speak with their pediatricians or family physicians, trusted and familiar experts, about vaccinations.
Now is the time to do it “now,” Patel said when asked about preschool immunizations.
Fewer children ages 12 to 15 are immune to COVID-19 than any other age group in Michigan. (The government cleared vaccines for pre-teens and young teens in May, months after the vaccine was first launched.) Less than 34% received at least one dose. About 82% of residents aged 65 to 74 are vaccinated. They have the highest immunization coverage of any age group.
The percentage increase in confirmed cases since July 2 was smaller among age groups that have high vaccination rates. The number of people aged 60 to 69 who tested positive for COVID-19 since July 2 has increased by 1.9%. People aged 70 to 79 saw a 1.2% increase in positive cases.
Overall, men and women aged 20 to 29 are the most affected. They have the highest number of cases per capita and account for 19% of Michigan’s total cases. They also have lower vaccination rates. Less than 42% received at least a single dose.
Patel said it appears that children hospitalized with COVID-19 have families who are not vaccinated. “It is also to be taken into consideration as a community to protect our children.”
Learn more about MLive.com:
More than half of Michigan’s communities are vaccinated in less than 70% of children
Kent, Genesee and 57 other Michigan counties set to hide indoors again, CDC says
Hospital workers bear the brunt of COVID-19, and it crushes them
Michigan reports 3-day total of 2,720 new coronavirus cases from Saturday August 7 to Monday August 9
Breakthrough COVID-19 infections after vaccination remain below 1% in Michigan
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