Summary
What is already known about this topic?
COVID-19 can cause severe illness in children and adolescents.
What is added by this report?
Coinciding with increased circulation of the Omicron variant, COVID-19–associated hospitalization rates among children and adolescents aged 0–17 years increased rapidly in late December 2021, especially among children aged 0–4 years who are not yet eligible for vaccination. Throughout the periods of Delta and Omicron predominance, hospitalization rates remained lower among fully vaccinated adolescents aged 12–17 years than among unvaccinated adolescents.
What are the implications for public health practice?
Strategies to prevent COVID-19 among children and adolescents, including vaccination of eligible persons, are critical.
Entire content available on: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7107e4.htm
