Children’s Health & COVID-19

From NIHCM Foundation's Newsletter

With COVID cases on the rise nationwide, driven primarily by the Omicron variant, more children than ever are testing positive. In the last week of 2021, roughly 325,340 children tested positive, up from 198,551 cases the week prior. Additionally, a record level of children under five are being hospitalized; as of January 1st, more than four in 100,000 children aged four and under were admitted to hospitals with COVID-19 infections, a rate more than triple this time last year. 

• Schools: The rise in pediatric cases has led many schools to take aggressive measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, from remote learning to daily at-home testing. Facing staffing shortages, some states are advising teachers that have tested positive but are asymptomatic that they may return to work after five days instead of ten. 
• Vaccines: 12- to 15- year olds are now authorized to receive the Pfizer booster shot and are advised to do so five months after their second shot. Vaccine trials for 2- to 5- year olds did not yield the expected immune responses, leading Pfizer to add a third shot for all children aged 6 months to 5 years to its ongoing clinical trial.
• Mental Health: In Colorado, between 25 and 40 children were going to emergency departments per day for acute behavioral health crises and suicidal ideation, an increase from pre-pandemic levels. In December, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory report on protecting youth mental health during the pandemic.
• Adverse Childhood Experiences: The pandemic has brought additional attention to the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the importance of trauma-informed practices. In October, California passed the ACEs Equity Act, significantly expanding the coverage for ACE screening.

Resources & Initiatives:

• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas awarded nearly $1.8 million in Healthy Kids, Healthy Families® grants to community-based organizations focused on mitigating the impacts of the social determinants of health associated with COVID-19.
• Dr. Anna Baldino, board-certified pediatrician and medical director with Independence Blue Cross discussed the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children over the age of 5 years old.
• Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan partnered with the Children’s Trust Fund to sponsor the 2022 Pam Posthumus Signature Auction, a fundraiser focused on raising money for community child abuse prevention programs.
• Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey released a guide to discussing the suicide epidemic with teens.
• Learn more about the pandemic’s impact on children, including COVID-19 vaccinations and mental health, with NIHCM’s recent infographic.