Atrium Health experts say Omicron surge is affecting children more than previous strains

CHARLOTTE — Atrium Health said it has been closely watching and reacting to the sharp increase of omicron cases in the Charlotte region.

Heath officials said the surge is driving COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations to record highs, impacting both adults and children.

According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the omicron surge is affecting children more than previous strains.

On Friday, experts from Atrium Health discussed how omicron is leading to an increase in pediatric hospitalizations and how to keep our communities as safe as possible.

Pediatric Infectious Disease Expert Dr. Amina Ahmed said a majority of the children who are being hospitalized are unvaccinated. Many of those children do not qualify for the vaccine.

“When we talked last week, we were seeing it in the community about 20 to 25% of our children are testing positive, a huge increase in cases all around the country. 70 to 80% numbers are definitely exceeding those of delta and even last winter by several polls. So a lot in the community and we weren’t quite seeing it in the hospital areas in the hospital yet. But now it’s here,” Dr. Ahmed said.

Dr. Ahmed said that across the board, health experts are continuing to see tremendous levels of community transmission and that has translated to the ongoing increase in hospitalizations.

Officials continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated and receive the booster shot.

(WATCH BELOW: COVID-19: Pfizer’s omicron vaccine and other variants will be ready in March, CEO says)

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