Child COVID rates rise; Advocate Aurora recommends vaccine
MILWAUKEE - The omicron variant is impacting people in our area, including children.
Advocate Aurora pediatric experts have information for parents and guardians to keep their families safe.
"We are seeing a higher proportion of kids needing a higher level of care during this surge," said Dr. Frank Belmonte, chief medical officer of Advocate Children’s Hospital.
Omicron’s surge throughout Milwaukee and the entire state of Wisconsin has Aurora Advocate health officials on high alert.
"We’ve been hospitalizing anywhere from 25 to 38 in patients in the children’s hospital between the two campuses. It is certainly a rise from what we saw in the past surges and it is the highest number that we’ve seen since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020," he said.
And they hope those numbers inspire you to proceed with caution, especially in regards to your children.
"We’re trained in this, we’ve been dealing with this for three years now so we’re here to support you. The best thing you can do at home is get vaccinated, especially if you have children in your home who are not eligible for the vaccine, so younger cases," said Dr. Nekaiya "Kay" Jacobs, Pediatric Critical Care Physician at Advocate Children's Hospital.
Besides maintaining physical health, doctors remind you to be mindful of your child’s mental health as well--they say they’ve seen a gradual increase in demand for mental health treatment for kids since the start of the pandemic.
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"I do think the impact of virtual learning has been a huge impact on the demand for care because of the isolation it causes for our kids," said Dr. Laura Yahr Nelson of Pediatric Psychiatry, Aurora Children’s Health.
Children's Wisconsin also reported this week that they are averaging 20 new COVID patients a day, a few needing ventilators.
"I hope to echo to families that there are safe ways to have a new normal and this has now become our new normal for the time being so we just need to create safe spaces where we can take care of our loved ones, whether they immunocompromised, elderly or not," said Dr. Jacobs.
The CDC has given the green light to booster shots for kids 12 and older.
Right now, five million kids who got their vaccinations in the spring are now eligible for the booster.
For more information on where you or your children can get boosted, CLICK HERE.
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