By Mary O’KEEFE

Throughout the nation, there are reports of the rising number of children testing positive for COVID-19, as well as the number of children being hospitalized due to the virus.

“Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) [as of Monday] had 14 patients in-house who have tested positive for COVID-19. The positivity rate for children tested for COVID-19 at CHLA has increased from 2.9% in November to 15.2% to date in December,” stated Lauren Song, CHLA spokesperson.

In addition, 20% of the children admitted with COVID-19 are requiring admission to the pediatric ICU, with some requiring intubation. Omicron is now the dominant variant, accounting for 95% of new infections at CHLA, according to Song.

According to CHLA, the omicron variant is so new there is not enough data yet to show if the variant will impact children differently than past variants of COVID-19. Early lab data suggests that two doses of an mRNA vaccine (Pfizer and Moderna) may not be as highly effective against omicron, although they still look to offer protection against severe disease and hospitalizations. Getting a booster raises the effectiveness of the vaccines and provides significant protection against severe illness. People who got the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should also get an mRNA booster.

There is another risk for children who test positive for COVID-19: multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). It is important to note that MIS-C is a rare disease but one that parents should be aware of.

MIS-C, formerly called pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome or PIMS, describes a health condition seen in children who have been infected with novel coronavirus then recovered from it but later have an immune response that results in symptoms of significant levels of inflammation in organ systems, according to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“We have seen several cases of MIS-C at CHLA over the past two weeks,” Song said.

MIS-C may not show up for several weeks after a positive COVID-19 test so there might be a delay after the number of COVID cases peak until medical staff see a peak in MIS-C.

“There are similarities between other inflammatory syndromes in children but this [MIS-C] does seem to be unique in that COVID-19 exposure usually occurs [two to six] weeks or so prior to MIS-C,” said Jackie Szmuszkovicz, a pediatric cardiologist and Kawasaki disease specialist at CHLA, in a past interview with CVW. “So this is really late inflammation that comes after the acute infection and exposure [to COVID-19].”

MIS-C symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include a fever for more than 24 hours plus stomach pain, bloodshot eyes, diarrhea, dizziness or lightheadedness, skin rash and vomiting; however, not all children will have the same symptoms.

But much more is now known about COVID-19, and related issues, since it was first discovered in 2019.

“This is a serious situation and people should be vigilant. We don’t want people to panic; we just want them to be cautious and to stay informed by checking the latest guidance from their public health officials,” according to CHLA.

The best protection is for everyone 5 years old and older to be vaccinated, as well as employing the same precautions already used throughout the pandemic including wearing a good, tight fitting mask in any public indoor space, avoiding large crowds and maintaining physical distance from others who are not in your household, Song stated.