ST. LOUIS — When the American Academy of Pediatrics came out with a report on children's COVID deaths across the country, data showed five children had died from the disease in Missouri. Pandemic task force leaders confirm all five of those fatalities come from the St. Louis region.
"We know that children are at low risk of infection with the novel coronavirus, but they're not at no risk," Rachel Orscheln, associate professor of Pediatrics in the division of Infectious Diseases at Washington University and St. Louis Children's Hospital.
Missouri's COVID dashboard shows two of the state's pediatric coronavirus deaths were patients between 10-14, while the other three were ages 15-17.
Orscheln says pediatric ICUs have been spared the higher fatality rates seen at their adult-serving counterparts, but they're still seeing children with COVID, especially if they have certain risk factors.
CDC data shows about 46% of pediatric patients hospitalized for COVID had no known conditions. Of those that did, obesity (34%), asthma (15%), and neurologic disease (13%) seemed to be the highest overlapping health issues. About 20% of patients were also recorded as having another, undefined disease.
Dr. Orscheln says treating kids comes with its own challenges. Medications available for adults might not be cleared for kids, dosage information may not be available, and kids smaller frames require specialized equipment.
And hospital staff are seeing their resources stretched in other ways. Out-of-season respiratory issues, like RSV and croup, are on the rise.
"We have seen an unseasonably late, or early, RSV season that has resulted in a lot of hospitalizations, particularly in young children. And that's why we do want to be mindful about preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus in children in general," Orscheln said.
With vaccines unavailable for the youngest among us, Orscheln says the best protection for kids is still masks and social distancing.
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