CDC: Child, teen COVID-19 hospitalizations nearly quadrupled in low-vax states

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a rise in COVID-19 cases, emergency department visits and hospital admissions between June and August 2021 among children and teens up to age 17. Emergency department visits and hospital admissions in a 2-week period in August 2021 almost quadrupled in states with lower population vaccination coverage, underscoring the importance of community vaccination to protect children too young to receive an approved COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 generally results in milder disease in children and adolescents than in adults, but severe illness requiring hospitalization can occur. The CDC does not know whether the delta variant of the disease causes different clinical outcomes in children and adolescents compared with variants that circulated earlier. (MMWR article, 9/3/21)