This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

This illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus. (CDC)

Officials: Kids at risk for respiratory illnesses

Although a child hasn’t been admitted as an inpatient for COVID at the facility, there have been multiple kids who have tested positive.

Amid a renewed surge of COVID-19 cases, state health officials on Thursday addressed the risks children face from the disease.

State Epidemiologist Joe McLaughlin said during a press conference that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported seeing higher numbers of pediatric COVID hospitalizations nationwide.

“Number one, we know that the delta surge is happening across the country, we know that this virus variant is much more transmissible than previous variants,” McLaughlin said. “And we also know that children are the least vaccinated population in our overall population nationally and here in Alaska.”

According to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services Monday, statewide there have been approximately 11,100 kids between the ages of 10 and 19 who have tested positive for the virus, as well as 7,000 children under 10.

The state reported a total of 1,155 new COVID cases over the weekend, which included 116 on the Kenai Peninsula.

Bruce Richards, the external affairs director at Central Peninsula Hospital, said although a child hasn’t been admitted as an inpatient for COVID at the facility, there have been multiple kids who have tested positive.

Anna Frick, an epidemiology fellow for the state, said during Thursday’s press briefing it’s hard to track pediatric COVID hospitalizations because the number is smaller than other age groups.

“The trends are a little hard to follow, because they’re very small numbers,” she said. “The most recent months have seen more than a few, though.”

Frick said if the pediatric hospitalization numbers continue upward on the same trajectory, they’ll closely align with the data from the last big surge.

There have also been more reports of respiratory syncytial virus — an infection that causes cold-like symptoms and can cause bronchiolitis and pneumonia — among children nationwide, Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink said Thursday.

“That does put young kids at risk both for stopping to breath if they’re really young … and is a common reason, particularly in this state, for hospitalization including ICU hospitalization for our infants,” Zink said. “And for our youngest kiddos, we saw a real surge of RSV in the Lower 48.”

Zink also said there has been an increase in RSV cases in Alaska, but emphasized that non-pharmaceutical mitigation efforts, like masking and social distancing, have helped reduce the spread.

Health officials at the state continue to encourage everyone eligible to get their COVID-19 vaccines, as they say the shot is the most effective mitigation measure available to the public.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, now marketed as Comirnaty, received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for people 16 and older last week, and is still available for children 12 to 15 under FDA emergency use authorization.

Additionally, the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen vaccines are FDA approved for emergency use for anyone 18 and older.

To find a vaccine, visit https://www.vaccines.gov/search/.

Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Bruce Jaffa, of Jaffa Construction, speaks to a group of students at Seward High School’s Career Day on Thursday, March 23, 2023, at Seward High School in Seward, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Seward students talk careers at fair

More than 50 businesses were represented

Alaska state Sen. Bert Stedman, center, a co-chair of the Senate Finance Committee, listens to a presentation on the major North Slope oil project known as the Willow project on Thursday, March 23, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. The committee heard an update on the project from the state Department of Natural Resources and the state Department of Revenue. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer)
Official: Willow oil project holds promise, faces obstacles

State tax officials on Thursday provided lawmakers an analysis of potential revenue impacts and benefits from the project

Jerry Burnett, chair of the Board of Game, speaks during their Southcentral meeting on Friday, March 17, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Board of Game decides on local proposals

Trapping setbacks, archery hunts and duck restrictions were up for consideration

Audre Hickey testifies in opposition to an ordinance that would implement a citywide lewdness prohibition in Soldotna during a city council meeting on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna council kills citywide lewdness ordinance

The decision followed lengthy public comment

Samantha Springer, left, and Michelle Walker stand in the lobby of the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Springer named new head of Kenai chamber

Springer, who was raised in Anchorage, said she’s lived on the Kenai Peninsula since 2021

Forever Dance performers rehearse “Storytellers” on Wednesday, March 22, 2023, at the Renee C. Henderson Auditorium in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘Storytellers’ weave tales with their feet

Dance and literature intersect in latest Forever Dance showcase

Soldotna City Hall is photographed on Wednesday, June 24, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna OKs donation of portable shower, restroom facilities to homelessness coalition

The city purchased the portable restroom and shower trailer for about $182,000 in October 2020

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation building is seen in Juneau, Alaska, in March 2022. The deadline for the permanent fund dividend is coming up fast, landing on March 31, 2023. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
PFD application deadline is next week; state revenue forecasts lower than expected

Alaska North Slope crude oil was estimated to be about $71.62 per barrel on Monday

COVID-19. (Image courtesy CDC)
COVID-19: Cases jump in Kenai Peninsula Borough

No hospitalizations were reported in the Gulf Coast region

Most Read