567 under 5's admitted to hospital in the UK in the last five days

That’s rather scary. I’m not sure we should stop sending children to school - I’d like to know more. One thing that does worry me is the difficulty in getting your child seen by a GP

How many children under 5 get admitted to hospital per day in a normal winter?

Alegrias - these are children who test positive with Covid , admitted to hospital. All the same, as all children are tested on admission and there are lots of asymptomatic infections, they might be being treated for epilepsy or a broken arm or parainfluenza virus, and test positive when screened, I think the 157 includes them all although it's not clear from the report.

Yes, I understand what you mean valdani. I am wondering how many children normally go to hospital in winter and how much of an increase this is. I'm not saying its not significant, but just because it looks like a big number we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

But we could follow the example of other countries and vaccinate our children.

South Africa and the US have reported high numbers of Omicron-infected young children.

maddyone

But we could follow the example of other countries and vaccinate our children.

Yes. Already checked with DD. DGS is getting vacced as soon as it's available here.

Why has there been no mention of this anywhere? I did read that a number of children in the US had been admitted to hospital recently. This is a very worrying development

It has been mentioned. Sky has been reporting it for the last week, as have a number of local newspapers.

I read the papers daily and listen to BBC news, not heard anything about it?

When you consider there are something like 1200 hospitals in the uk (though not all of those will have paediatric units) that doesn't seem like quite such an alarming number. To make any real sense it needs to be compared to usual admission rates for under 5s as Alegrias said earlier. In that age group its probably peak time for bronchiolitis & the like.

That's very worrying indeed

Alegrias1

Yes, I understand what you mean valdani. I am wondering how many children normally go to hospital in winter and how much of an increase this is. I'm not saying its not significant, but just because it looks like a big number we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

If they have been admitted for other reasons then most may only have Covid very mildly; most of DGD's reception, Y1, Y2 and Y3 were off with Covid or isolating in September/October. Then the older ones caught it just before half-term.

However, if they have been admitted because they are very ill with Covid it is extremely worrying.

In that age group its probably peak time for bronchiolitis & the like.
The virus which causes bronchiolitis (the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)) has been a big problem too, especially in New Zealand.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/05/covid-hospitalizations-us-children-omicron-schools-hospitals

GrannyLaine

When you consider there are something like 1200 hospitals in the uk (though not all of those will have paediatric units) that doesn't seem like quite such an alarming number. To make any real sense it needs to be compared to usual admission rates for under 5s as Alegrias said earlier. In that age group its probably peak time for bronchiolitis & the like.

So do you have a link to any statistics?

I think doctors can tell the difference between Covid and bronchiolitis. Omicron doesn't primarily cause respiratory problems anyway.

The question is, though, were the children admitted for other reasons and then tested positive for Covid or was Covid the primary reason for their admittance?

Bronchiolitis (RSV) can be frightening, one of my DC had it at 20 months so if there is an outbreak of that it's worrying.

Calistemon

The question is, though, were the children admitted for other reasons and then tested positive for Covid or was Covid the primary reason for their admittance?

Bronchiolitis (RSV) can be frightening, one of my DC had it at 20 months so if there is an outbreak of that it's worrying.

I expect doctors can tell the difference.

Of course they can!
That's not the point though.

growstuff

GrannyLaine

When you consider there are something like 1200 hospitals in the uk (though not all of those will have paediatric units) that doesn't seem like quite such an alarming number. To make any real sense it needs to be compared to usual admission rates for under 5s as Alegrias said earlier. In that age group its probably peak time for bronchiolitis & the like.

So do you have a link to any statistics?

I think doctors can tell the difference between Covid and bronchiolitis. Omicron doesn't primarily cause respiratory problems anyway.

What a very strange response Growstuff.
No I don't have a link to any statistics. What statistics are you looking for? Merely pointing out that bandying the number 567 about with no context doesn't tell us much.
And please don't further insult my intelligence: where did I say that doctors were confusing Covid and bronchiolitis?? Just using an example of what would usually cause a rise in admission rates in this age group in winter.

Merely pointing out that bandying the number 567 about with no context doesn't tell us much.

That is what some of us are trying to ascertain, GrannyLaine.

Is this the number of under 5s who have been admitted because they are very ill with Covid?
If so, this is extremely worrying.

RSV is worrying too.

The NHS site says that nearly all children have been infected with RSV by the age of two and very few require hospitalisation.

GrannyLaine

growstuff

GrannyLaine

When you consider there are something like 1200 hospitals in the uk (though not all of those will have paediatric units) that doesn't seem like quite such an alarming number. To make any real sense it needs to be compared to usual admission rates for under 5s as Alegrias said earlier. In that age group its probably peak time for bronchiolitis & the like.

So do you have a link to any statistics?

I think doctors can tell the difference between Covid and bronchiolitis. Omicron doesn't primarily cause respiratory problems anyway.

What a very strange response Growstuff.
No I don't have a link to any statistics. What statistics are you looking for? Merely pointing out that bandying the number 567 about with no context doesn't tell us much.
And please don't further insult my intelligence: where did I say that doctors were confusing Covid and bronchiolitis?? Just using an example of what would usually cause a rise in admission rates in this age group in winter.

Why strange? I'm looking for the context too. Please keep a lid on your rudeness.

growstuff

The NHS site says that nearly all children have been infected with RSV by the age of two and very few require hospitalisation.

You can catch it more than once I believe.

I presume that will be the same with Covid, time will tell.