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Number of U.S. Kids in Hospital With COVID Doubles to 4,000 in Two Weeks

The figure shows a steep rise since Dec. 25, when under 2,000 kids were in hospital.

The number of children in U.S. hospitals with COVID-19 has more than doubled to over 4,000 since Christmas Day as the Omicron variant has swept across the nation, according to new figures from The Washington Post. The Post’s tally includes both suspected and confirmed pediatric COVID patients and it shows a steep rise since Dec. 25, when under 2,000 kids were in hospital. The seven-day average of pediatric hospitalizations stands at 3,713, the figures show. On Wednesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said kids aged 12 to 17 should get a Pfizer-BioNTech booster to give them protection against Omicron. Director Rochelle Walensky said in a statement: “It is critical that we protect our children and teens from COVID-19 infection and the complications of severe disease... I encourage all parents to keep their children up to date with CDC’s COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.”