ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The number of pediatric COVID cases are what’s separating the omicron wave from other waves of the virus.
On Tuesday, Michigan Medicine and C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital sounded the alarm on their situations and the impact it’s having on their ability to care for children.
Read: 9 COVID takeaways: ‘This surge is not like the others,’ and where Michigan is heading
There are a couple of fairly straightforward reasons omicron is hitting kids more right now. Widespread in-person learning means more contact between kids who can spread it. The dramatic increase in transmissibility means any weak spots in protection will lead to infection.
The current pediatric COVID hospitalization number has more than doubled since the surge started in December. Michigan is seeing some of the highest numbers that we’ve ever seen in children and the trend is national.
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Dr. Erika Newman is a pediatric surgeon at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital.
“We are deeply concerned about children in our state and in our community and our ability to take care of both children with COVID and non-COVID conditions. We have never seen this many children hospitalized with COVID-19,” Newman said.
Read: Where to get COVID test in Michigan, what to do with at-home test results
If you have children old enough to get vaccinated, health officials say you should get them vaccinated. The ripple effect that pediatric COVID admissions is having on the care of non-COVID patients is profound.
Important surgeries are being delayed and specialized care available only at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital is being turned away because they are too full.
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Since the start of December, they’ve canceled or postponed at least 250 surgeries.
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