Child Covid Hospitalizations Rose in Summer, CDC to Tell Senate

Hospitalization rates among children with Covid-19 increased during the summer, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The revelation is part of prepared testimony from U.S. health officials who will update a Senate health committee Wednesday on the nation’s Covid-19 response. The hearing will likely cover many topics, including possible political interference by the White House in the operations of the CDC and other agencies.

“Though the mortality rate is low for children aged 18 years and younger, Covid-19–associated hospitalization rates increased among this age group during the summer,” according to the testimony.

CDC Director Robert Redfield is representing the agency at the hearing.

The CDC has previously reported that from March 1 through July 25, 1 in 3 children admitted to a hospital for Covid-19 ended up in an intensive-care unit. The number of pediatric hospitalizations is still small compared with adults, but the data do highlight that kids aren’t immune to the virus — as President Donald Trump has claimed — and can suffer serious illness.

The percentage of all hospitalizations for Covid-19 that involve children rose from 0.8% May 21 to 1.7%, totaling 5,016, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported on Sept. 17. Children represented 10.3% of the more than 5.7 million Covid-19 cases in the U.S., the academy said. When the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year, the CDC originally said children represented 2% of Covid-19 cases.

Redfield didn’t immediately expand on the prepared remarks, but a CDC report shows that weekly hospitalizations for all ages related to Covid-19 hit a second peak the week ending July 18. Weekly adult hospitalizations fell between the weeks ending Aug. 1 and Sept. 12, while the rates among children remained steady during that time period, the CDC said.

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