Yahoo News South Africa: Omicron cases among young children ‘mild’ say scientists
South African health officials said a rise in children being admitted to hospital driven by the Omicron variant should not prompt panic as cases have been mild.
A large number of children admitted with Covid-19 last month around the capital Pretoria raised concerns the new variant was more dangerous for young children but scientists cautioned other factors could be at play.
Public health specialist Ntsakisi Maluleke told Reuters that out of the 1,511 Covid-positive patients in hospitals in the province 113 were under nine-years-old, a greater proportion than during previous waves of infection.
“We are comforted by clinicians’ reports that the children have mild disease,” she said, adding health officials and scientists were investigating what was driving increased admissions in younger ages and were hoping to provide more clarity within two weeks.
Ms Maluleke said healthcare workers could be acting out of an abundance of caution, saying: ““They would rather have a child under care for a day or two than having a child at home and complicating...but we really need to wait for the evidence.”
But an article by the South African Medical Research Council based on early observations at the Steve Biko/Tshwane District Hospital Complex in Pretoria over the last two weeks contained reassuring signs.
The majority of patients in the Covid wards at the hospital complex were not oxygen-dependent and were “incidental Covid admissions,” having another reason for admission, the article said.
“This is a picture that has not been seen in previous waves. In the beginning of all three previous waves and throughout the course of these waves, there has always only been a sprinkling of patients on room air in the Covid ward,” it said.
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