Up to five kids per day hospitalized with COVID in Springfield area; cases double

As the delta variant of COVID-19 continues rampaging through southwest Missouri, the number of children being hospitalized with the virus is rising in Greene County.

The spread of the disease among youth comes as another wave of the coronavirus breaks grim new records in the Springfield area. Greene County recently surpassed 500 deaths.

From June to July, the rate of new infections in children under the age of 12 more than doubled, said Katie Towns, director of health for Springfield-Greene County.

In July, more than half of the patients admitted to the intensive care unit at Mercy Springfield Communities hospital system died, according to Erik Frederick, chief administrative officer. The hospital system includes Mercy Hospital Springfield and five regional hospitals.

Five days into August, the coronavirus has killed 17 patients, Frederick said. As of Thursday, there were 144 COVID-19 patients across the hospital system.

In the past week, 874 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Greene County, according to state data. Increasingly, hospitals are admitting children with the virus.

Diane Lipscomb, medical director for inpatient pediatrics and the pediatric intensive care unit at Mercy Springfield, said Wednesday that since June 1, and the onset of the delta variant surge, her hospital has seen an increase in pediatric patients who have been critically ill with the virus.

“In prior surges, we had very few children, if at all any admitted,” Lipscomb said. “During this surge, we are now seeing children admitted at the rates of zero to five per day.”

Infections among children

The number of children under the age of 12 testing positive for the virus increased by 113% from June to July in Greene County, according to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department.

In July alone, 506 children between the ages of zero and 11 tested positive for the disease, according to the health department. That was more than double June’s infections, which totaled 217 among the same age group. Last month, children made up 8.5% of all reported COVID-19 cases in the county.

July’s numbers set a new record for infections in children. Before that, December saw the highest rates, with 255 children testing positive.

More youth hospitalized

Last Friday, more than 300 people were hospitalized for COVID-19 at two health systems in Springfield including three patients under the age 10.

On July 29, there were 145 COVID-19 patients at Mercy Springfield, Frederick, said at the time. Five of those patients were under the age of 20 and three were under age 10.

Karen Kramer, chief hospital officer and incident commander from CoxHealth in Springfield, said the hospital in April and May saw four pediatric patients admitted with the virus.

In June and July, the total number of hospitalized children rose to 28, Kramer said.

Lipscomb said Wednesday that while no children have died, those admitted to the ICU stay for an average of seven to 10 days, and those admitted to the pediatric floor stay an average of two to five days.

“Many of these children are admitted to the ICU, and many of these children are our teenagers that are coming in requiring critical care,” she said.

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COVID-19 symptoms in kids

Symptoms of COVID in children are similar to symptoms in adults, Lipscomb said. With delta, doctors are seeing more cold-like symptoms, including vomiting. The loss of smell that came with the original strain of the virus isn’t as common now.

If a child is exhibiting any symptoms, Lipscomb urged their guardians to contact a medical provider.

Lipscomb said many of the children she’s seeing with severe illness from the virus are older teenagers and children with underlying health problems or who are overweight.

“They have their life ahead of them, and whatever we can do to prevent them from getting sick, we must do,” she said.

Asked about COVID-19’s long-term effects on children, Lipscomb said the results are still to be determined. Most data at this point reflects long-term affects of the disease on adults, which can include respiratory disease, fatigue and some heart disease.

“Time will tell how these children are recovering,” she said.

Delta surge continues

As of Thursday, 560 people have died of the coronavirus in Greene County, according to state health department data.

Frederick wrote on Twitter Thursday that last month 51% of those admitted to the ICU in Mercy hospitals died.

As of Thursday, none of the patients in the ICU or on ventilators were fully vaccinated, Frederick said. Overall, 93% of those admitted to the hospital with the coronavirus were not vaccinated.

Kramer, with CoxHealth, said of the 562 coronavirus patients they treated in July, 76 died.

“Even though our hospitalizations have softened a little, today we are at 162 patients hospitalized,” she said Wednesday, adding that about 20% of the patients are in critical condition.

Younger adults dying

Among the recent deaths was a man in his 20s, a man in his 30s and four women in their 40s, said Towns, with the county health department.

“These were parents, friends and loved ones,” Towns said at a news conference Wednesday. “People who were building lives, families, careers, in our community who have been taken from us far too soon.”

In July, the average age of those dying of the virus was 64, Towns said. In March 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, it was 88.

Since January, 94% of those in the county who died of COVID-19 were not fully vaccinated, she said.

“While it appears that the current surge is starting to slow, the rate of new cases is still high and the crisis is still not over,” she said.

Calls for vaccination

As of Monday, fewer than 20% of Greene County residents between the ages of 12 and 20 were fully vaccinated, Towns said. The vaccine is not yet available to children younger than 12.

“Children are showing excellent responses to the vaccines,” Lipscomb said. “This helps protect their family and the community from this surge that’s happening.”

In Greene County, where Springfield is located, 43.1% of the population has initiated vaccination and 36.8% has completed the vaccination process. Statewide, 48.7% of the population has initiated the vaccine and 41.7% has completed it, according to the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

In the past week, 874 more people tested positive for COVID-19 in Greene County, according to state data.

“Vaccination is our key to get out of this pandemic,” Kramer said. “We really need to get our kids 12 and older vaccinated along with everyone else.”