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More children and young people are being hospitalized with colds and respiratory problems than ever after the Covid pandemic, official data suggests.
Experts have repeatedly warned of lockdowns and measures used to contain Covid-like face masks also suppressed the spread of germs crucial to building strong immune systems in children.
A retrospective report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today showed that cold virus levels reached their all-time high among young people under the age of 18 in August 2021.
The CDC samples random children’s hospitals in the US and makes national estimates to measure the prevalence of viruses.
There were nearly 700 children hospitalized with a respiratory virus in the seven wards surveyed last August, just over half of whom tested positive for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) – which is normally benign .
This was the highest level ever recorded in the summer, following a year and a half of brutal pandemic restrictions that forced many to stay indoors.
The all-time record is in December, when 60 percent of children in wards with respiratory diseases were infected with RSV.
While the report only looked at August 2021, separate data from the CDC indicates that hospital visits for children under the age of four with respiratory problems may be getting worse.
In the week ending September 18 this year, 4.7 percent of all toddler emergency room visits in the US were for breathing difficulties — a record high.
dr. Scott Roberts, medical director at Yale University, told DailyMail.com today that lockdowns deprived children of the chance to build immunity against common bugs.
The above shows the proportion of emergency room visits in children aged 5 to 14 that were due to reactive respiratory disease/asthma. This shows that there is also an upturn, but that it is comparable to periods before the pandemic
The graph above shows the percentage of admitted patients under the age of 18 who were infected with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV, represented by the black line), a normally occurring infection. It reached record levels for the month of August, which were comparable only to December, when the viruses are normally widespread
The chart above shows the proportion of emergency room visits in children aged 0-4 years that were due to reactive respiratory disease/asthma – a term for cases where children have a severe cough. It shows that in 2021 the share reached the highest level since the measurements started
The record increase was revealed today in the Weekly report on morbidity and mortality (MMWR), the country’s leading infectious disease and healthcare publication.
Scientists have checked seven hospitals in the US for the number of children admitted for respiratory diseases.
Each was then tested to determine what disease they were infected with. However, this does not necessarily mean that they were hospitalized because of this illness.
The report does not include data for the remainder of 2021 or this year.
Data showed that of the nearly 700 hospitalized with respiratory illness in August 2021, nearly 55 percent tested positive for RSV.
Of the 450 transferred to the emergency room, nearly 35 percent had RSV.
This level was also comparable to the winter months, when more than 30 percent of patients regularly have the virus.
But in the summer – when the data is from – this was usually at a much lower level.
Many common respiratory viruses were virtually absent during the Covid pandemic as restrictions prevented their spread.
But when society returned to normal, they started to spread again and quickly.
The knock-on effect appears to be of concern in hospital admissions with common respiratory illnesses.
dr. Roberts told DailyMail.com that lockdowns resulted in an extra year or two in which children were not exposed to these viruses.
“There are two implications,” he said.
First, the gap gives time for the viruses to mutate even further and cause more serious disease.
“And the second is whatever immunity has built up against those viruses, the immune response is much less now.”
Immune responses are refined and boosted by regular infections, which is why authorities are keen to continue rolling out Covid vaccines.
But when the spread of these viruses was stopped by lockdown measures, the build-up of immunity was also blocked.
dr. Roberts also told DailyMail.com how his son, who has just turned two, now repeatedly came home with infections after starting daycare.
“We were pretty sheltered during the pandemic,” he said.
“But now my son has just started daycare and is constantly getting infections.”
There are also now some concerns about children’s hospitals quickly filling up with children with respiratory diseases in September, much earlier than usual.
It worries experts about the winter, when these viruses normally spread, as it suggests there could be another wave of hospitalizations.
A separate study also published today in the MMWR also points to this risk.
After searching national databases, it was found that among the children studied, hospital admissions reached the highest level for respiratory diseases in mid-September compared to the previous four years for 0-4 year olds.
However, no such increase was recorded among 5 to 17-year-olds, with admissions for respiratory illness comparable to the two years before the Covid pandemic hit.
In their paper, the scientists suggested that enteroviruses — another common respiratory disease — may be responsible for the increase in young children.
They said: ‘This increase may be partly due to the increased [enterovirus] circulation and especially circulation of EV-D68.
“Continued monitoring is needed to understand when and where future circulation and EV-D68-associated serious diseases may occur, given the potential changes in virus circulation and population immunity associated with COVID-19 mitigation measures.”
Suicide by firearms skyrocketed to its highest rate in more than 30 years in 2021, an alarming trend that has coincided with the global Covid pandemic
No data was provided on which treatments the patients received or how long they stayed in hospital.
Last month, the CDC warned of increasing enterovirus infections. It called on clinicians to look for cases and request testing from the CDC if necessary.
It comes after separate CDC data found today that the number of firearms suicides skyrocketed to its highest rate in more than 30 years in 2021, an alarming trend that has coincided with the global Covid pandemic.
More than 26,000 Americans committed suicide with a gun in 2021 — or 55 percent of all suicides. That is the highest percentage since 1990.
Suicide rates have generally increased over the past decade in different age groups including teenagers. And the suicide rate among teens caused by guns remains high.
About 44 percent of suicide deaths in the 14-18 age group were caused by firearms between 2015 and 2020.
Suicide rates rose for the first time in two years last year, with about 48,000 Americans committing suicide.
It is feared that it is an early sign of the economically cruel effects of lockdowns and pandemic restrictions.