US sees more kids in hospitals as COVID spikes, CDC’s Walensky says

From left, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky, arrive for a video call with U.S. President Joe Biden, the White House COVID-19 Response Team and the National Governors Association in the South Court Auditorium at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Monday, Dec. 27, 2021, in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/TNS)

The U.S. is seeing a higher number of kids in hospitals, as omicron spreads across the country, Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told MSNBC.

“Most of those children are not yet vaccinated,” Walensky said Wednesday. “So the message here is: Get the children vaccinated.”

Walensky spoke amid concerns that the return of U.S. kids to to school next week after the holiday break may further spread infections, already at record levels.

December is a common time of the year for children to be admitted to the hospital, according to Walensky, who added that most affected kids currently are seeking medical attention for reasons other than COVID and incidentally testing positive upon admission. Most children aren’t requiring treatment in intensive care units, Walensky said.

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