Countries with high exposure to the Omicron variant are recording record numbers of child coronavirus hospitalisations, adding to the pressures on healthcare systems, although health experts have stressed that the vast majority of cases were mild.
Data from Europe and the US show more child admissions in recent days than at any time during the pandemic, but severe cases are rare in the youngest age groups and Omicron infections generally looked similar to other common respiratory illnesses.
Paediatric admissions in France are nearly six times greater than the previous high of August 2021, while case rates among English under-5s are more than three times higher than last winter’s peak. About 80 under-5s are being admitted daily to hospital in England, up from the previous record of 24 last summer. The US under-5s hospitalisation rate has jumped to more than four in 100,000, from 2.5 per 100,000 in December, and is by far the highest rate during the pandemic.