During Omicron variant predominance, COVID-19-associated hospitalization among children aged 5-11 increased, according to research published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Dallas S. Shi, MD, PhD, and colleagues analyzed data from the COVID-19-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network to describe COVID-19- associated hospitalizations among 1,475 US children throughout the pandemic, focusing on December 19, 2021 to February 28, 2022, the period of early Omicron predominance. Most of the 397 children hospitalized during this period (87%) were unvaccinated; 30% had no underlying medical conditions and 19% were admitted to an ICU. During the Omicronpredominant period, the cumulative hospitalization rate was 2.1 times as high among unvaccinated versus vaccinated children (19.1 versus 9.2 per 100,000 population). The largest proportion of unvaccinated children (34%) were non-Hispanic Black children; they accounted for about one-third of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations. The likelihood of severe COVID-19 increased with diabetes and obesity.

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