Few children with COVID-19 are hospitalized, CDC finds

Relatively few children with COVID-19 have been hospitalized in the U.S., new data from the CDC shows.

Between 5.7 percent and 20 percent of children with COVID-19 were hospitalized in the U.S., researchers estimate.

Researchers analyzed data from 149,760 COVID-19 cases in the U.S., occurring Feb. 12-April 2. Of the 149,082 reported cases for which age was known, 2,572 (1.7 percent) were among children younger than 18 years.

They found:

1. Nearly one-third of reported pediatric COVID-19 cases (32 percent) were in children 15 to 17 years old. Fifteen percent of pediatric COVID-19 cases were in children younger than 1 year.

2. Data on signs and symptoms of COVID-19 were available for 291pediatric COVID-19 cases, of which 73 percent reported fever, cough or shortness of breath. By comparison, 93 percent of the 10,944 adult COVID-19 cases with symptom information available reported the same symptoms.

3. Information on hospitalization status was available for 745 of pediatric COVID-19 cases, of which an estimated range of 5.7 percent to 20 percent were hospitalized, and 0.58 percent to 2 percent were admitted to an intensive care unit.

4. Hospitalization was most common among pediatric COVID-19 patients younger than 1 year and those with underlying conditions.

5. Among 345 pediatric COVID-19 cases with information on underlying conditions, 23 percent had at least one underlying condition. The most common underlying conditions were chronic lung disease (including asthma), cardiovascular disease and immunosuppression.

 

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