Covid patients aged 2 and under most likely to go to hospital in South African epicentre

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.thenationalnews.com/cor...to-go-to-hospital-in-south-african-epicentre/

Covid patients aged 2 and under most likely to go to hospital in South African epicentre
Increase in admissions among very young 'could be precautionary', says doctor
Gillian Duncan
Nov 29, 2021

Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron

Children aged 2 and under make up the highest percentage of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital in Gauteng, the South African epicentre of the outbreak.

Pubic health spokeswoman Dr Waasila Jassat said the country was starting to see a “slight increase” nationally in the number of admissions.

However, there had been “significant increases” over the past two weeks in the province of Gauteng, from 18 admissions a day to 49...

...There were about 455 admissions from November 11 to 28 in the Gauteng city of Tshwane, where eight people have died, Dr Jassat said during a televised government media briefing on Monday.

In Tshwane, which has recorded the highest increases in admissions, there has been “a very sharp increase”, particularly in the past 10 days, she said.

“When you look at the numbers of admissions by age, what we normally see is a large number of admissions in older people,” she added.

“But in this early resurgence in Tshwane, we are seeing most admissions in the 0-2 age group.

“And we are seeing a large number of admissions in the middle ages, sort of around 28 to 38.”

She said “very high proportions” of young children were being admitted — more than 70 per cent of cases in the 4-and-under age group.

The percentage was much lower in other child age groups, at about 10 per cent in children aged 5 to 9 and slightly less for the age 10-19 group.

However, the percentage of young children admitted with comorbidities, or underlying conditions, was “quite low,” at about 1 per cent...

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.news24.com/news24/south...lised-in-tshwane-not-vaccinated-nicd-20211129



2h ago
Covid-19: Almost 90% of people hospitalised in Tshwane not vaccinated, NICD
Tebogo Monama
The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) says 87% of patients admitted to hospital in Tshwane are not vaccinated against Covid-19.
The NICD says unvaccinated people are more likely to die from the disease.
The Gauteng health department says it is ready for the fourth wave.

Eighty-seven percent of all patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in Tshwane are unvaccinated.

Dr Wassila Jassat from the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Monday that their surveillance has revealed that unvaccinated patients fared worse than vaccinated ones, adding that 87% of all admissions in Tshwane are unvaccinated patients...

 

[Okieman]

I am going to give an opinion here....

If the news article at the top, Covid patients aged 2 and under most likely to go to hospital in South African epicentre, is correct in this sentence:

Children aged 2 and under make up the highest percentage of Covid-19 patients admitted to hospital in Gauteng, the South African epicentre of the outbreak.

then this issue may be the main reason for such quick response by governments around the world.

It has been my belief that the pandemic up to this point has been a "moderate" pandemic. Of course for those who have gotten badly sick or died it has been anything but moderate. But when viewed from a historical standpoint it has not been a severe pandemic such as the 1918 Spanish Flu or the Black Plague Pandemics centuries ago. On the other side would be the 2009 Swine Flu pandemic which would be considered a mild pandemic. I have held that when/if the present Covid pandemic begins to badly effect children in large numbers then it will quickly become a Severe pandemic. If what is described in the news article mentioned above is a beginning glimpse of what is to come all around the world then we may have entered the most terrible pandemic wave up to this point. It is really too soon to know much of anything with any certainty yet about Omicron though. So we have to wait and watch for more data and information. But if the children appear to be the main victims of this coming wave then every government in the world would be wise to respond strongly. And we as individuals should do likewise.

 

[Okieman]

South Africa, first to reveal omicron, braces for covid case surge, including among young children

By Annabelle Timsit
Today at 9:41 a.m. EST

South Africa has recorded a sharp increase in covid-19 cases, including among children under 2-years-old, a top epidemiologist said Monday, as the country reckons with the consequences of being the first to report the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Health-care providers and officials said they are making preparations to deal with what is effectively a fourth wave of the pandemic in the country — including by ensuring there are enough pediatric hospital beds to deal with the possible increase in young children’s hospital admissions.

snip

According to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality, which includes the heavily affected Gauteng Province, between Nov. 14 and 28, the age group with the highest total number of hospital admissions for covid were those under the age of 2. During those two weeks, 62 under-2-year-olds were admitted compared with 42 admissions for the ages 30 to 32.

snip

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/29/south-africa-omicron-fourth-wave-vaccine/

 

[Okieman]

Toddlers Make Up 10% of Hospital Cases in Omicron Epicenter

By
Loni Prinsloo
November 29, 2021, 10:51 AM CST

Children under the age of 2 account for about 10% of total hospital admissions in the omicron epicenter Tshwane in South Africa, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.

More kids are being admitted than during the early stages of the country entering the current fourth wave of infections, although a similar trend occurred during the third wave when delta was dominant, said Waasila Jassat, public health specialist at the institute.

snip

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-up-10-of-hospital-cases-in-omicron-epicenter

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Shiloh]

Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/exp...-higher-risks-for-infants-than-other-variants

EXPLAINER-Does Omicron pose higher risks for infants than other variants?
Contributors
Alexander Winning Reuters
Tim Cocks Reuters
Dec 1, 2021 2:06PM EST

JOHANNESBURG, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Data from an area in South Africa hard-hit by the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has shown a high number of hospital admissions of infants under 2 years old, raising concerns that the variant may pose risks to young children.

South African scientists have said they cannot yet confirm a link between Omicron and the high admissions of infants, which could be due to other factors. Here is what we do and do not know about the issue.

WHAT IS CAUSING CONCERN?

The data, released by South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), shows that 52 infants under age 2 were among 452 COVID-19 patients admitted in Tshwane - the metropolitan area that includes the capital Pretoria - in the period between Nov. 14 and 28, a higher number than for any other age group.

However, taking into account the size of the populations of the various age groups, the risk of admission was higher for people over age 60.

HAVE THE ADMISSIONS BEEN LINKED TO OMICRON?

No. Only a small percentage of positive test samples in South Africa are being submitted for genomic sequencing to detect the variant due to limited capacity. That means we cannot know for sure whether the infants in hospital were infected with Omicron, NICD scientists have said...

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Okieman]

Omicron Triggers ‘Unprecedented’ COVID Surge Hitting Children Under Age 5 in South Africa

The “highly transmissible” Omicron variant of coronavirus ripping through South Africa is putting disproportionately large numbers of children under 5 years old in hospitals, a top South African government medical adviser said Friday.

The alarming development raises the prospect of a new global battle cycle against the virus, given that the new variant has already spread to dozens of countries. The South African scientists also said the new variant was spreading much quicker than any previous wave of the coronavirus.

In a worrying virtual press conference, government adviser Waasila Jassat, speaking about the worst-affected area of Gauteng province (which includes the city of Johannesburg), said: “It’s clear in Gauteng, the week-on-week increase we’re seeing in cases and admissions is higher than we’ve seen it before. We’ve seen quite a sharp increase [in hospital admissions] across all age groups but particularly in the under 5s.”

snip

https://www.thedailybeast.com/omicr...under-5-years-old-in-hospital-in-south-africa

---------------------------
Okieman Comment: A must read article. Pass on this information to any you know with young children. This is what I feared, based upon the early information coming out.

 

[Okieman]

Sharon, this thread might be worth turning into a "Sticky" thread. Or creating a new one just for how Omicron is effecting children under 5.

 

[sharon sanders]

Sharon, this thread might be worth turning into a "Sticky" thread. Or creating a new one just for how Omicron is effecting children under 5.

Sure!

 

[blacknail]

Yes good idea. I think tracking the information about Omicron is as important as tracking the cases now that it has been found essentially everywhere in the World.

 

[Okieman]

'Worrying' number of children and pregnant women in hospital as omicron surges in South Africa

A leading doctor has painted a grim picture from inside an intensive care unit on the outskirts of Johannesburg

snip

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-...ldren-pregnant-women-hospital-omicron-surges/

------------------------
Okieman Comment: The Telegraph requires a subscription, which I do not have. But I have posted the title of the article and the link to it due to it mentioning both children and pregnant women. If anyone has a subscription and are willing to post a few paragraphs it would be appreciated.

 

[sharon sanders]

bump this

 

[Pathfinder]

South Africa sees rise in child COVID hospital admissions in Omicron epicentre but cases 'mild'
...
Saturday 4 December 2021 13:48, UK
...
Ntsakisi Maluleke, a public health specialist in Gauteng province which includes the capital Pretoria and the biggest city Johannesburg, said that out of the 1,511 COVID-positive patients in hospitals in the area, 113 (7%) were under nine-years-old, a greater proportion than during previous waves of infection.

But she said: "We are comforted by clinicians' reports that the children have mild disease."
...
Since only a small proportion of South Africa's positive coronavirus tests are sent for genomic sequencing, officials do not yet know which variants the children admitted to hospital have been infected with.

Pointing out healthcare workers could be acting out of caution, she said: "They would rather have a child under care for a day or two than having a child at home and complicating... but we really need to wait for the evidence."
...
Despite a recent influx of admissions, Gauteng's dedicated COVID-19 bed occupancy was still only around 13%, Ms Maluleke said, adding that contingency plans were in place should capacity become stretched.

Scientists are still working to find out what severity of illness is caused by the Omicron variant...

https://news.sky.com/story/south-af...-in-omicron-epicentre-but-cases-mild-12486132

 

[Emily]

Geert Vanden Bossche has warned about mass vaccination into a pandemic, pushing symptomatic cases into younger age groups. This may be the case in Gauteng, but I would hesitate to add to the anxiety of parents here at this point. I still have not found good documentation that these are Omicron cases, but worth watching either way.