SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio — As the highly contagious omicron variant of coronavirus drives up infections, hospitalization rates are also climbing, including for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
With more than 440,000 new cases in the last seven days, the CDC reports 53 million confirmed cases of the virus across the U.S. More than 6.7 million of them are children 17 or younger.
In Summit County, the 14-day average per 100,000 cases reveals 1,761 have been children 17 or younger, Summit County Public Health reports.
In the three days before Christmas, the county saw the highest confirmed number of cases of COVID-19 cases in many months, with each day counting well over 1,000 cases, the health department reported.
Over the last 60 days, Summit County’s 14-day average for cases per 100,000 children now stands at 1,761, according to the public health dashboard.
As for hospitalization rates for children, Ohio follows national trends, the CDC shows.
In the U.S., 75,511 children 17 years old and younger were hospitalized with COVID-19 between Aug. 1, 2020, and Dec. 27, 2021, the CDC reports.
In Ohio, 3,646 children in that age group were hospitalized for COVID-19 in the same time period.
The country reached its highest seven-day average number of infections for kids between Aug. 29 and Sept. 4, tallying 342 children per 100,000 admitted to the hospital for COVID-19.
Ohio’s highest infections came the week of Sept. 16 through Sept. 22, with 25 children per 100,000 hospitalized from COVID-19, the CDC said.
The lowest rates came in mid-summer when during the week of the Fourth of July, the seven-day average for the nation was 54 hospitalizations per 100,000, which in Ohio translated to one child hospitalized per 100,000, the CDC reported.
Infections in all age groups began to rise sharply just after Thanksgiving.
From Nov. 18-24, the seven-day national average for hospital admissions was 157 per 100,000, climbing to 305 admissions between Dec. 20-26, the CDC said.
That represented a 48.2% increase over the week prior, Dec. 13 through Dec. 19, the CDC said.
Ohio saw a dramatic increase in children’s hospitalizations around the same time, beginning Nov. 23, when the seven-day average was eight admissions per 100,000, rising to 20 admissions per 100,000 by the week of Dec. 20-26, the CDC said.
From Nov. 22-28, Ohio’s seven-day average hospitalizations were nine per 100,000, the CDC said. That average increased to 23 per 100,000 between Dec. 16-22, a 50% from the week before. As of Dec. 26, hospital admissions of children have fallen to a seven-day average of 20 admissions.
Public vaccination programs are underway across Summit County for adults and children five and older. Appointments for COVID-19 testing can be made online through Summit County Public Health and at local pharmacies.
