Florida children's hospitals see pediatric COVID-19 cases soar
On Tuesday, 46 pediatric patients were admitted to Florida hospitals with confirmed COVID-19 infections, bringing the total number of pediatric coronavirus patients in the state to 135, according to
hospital capacity data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Florida follows only behind Texas in the current number of children hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, with the Lone Star State recording a total of 142 as of Tuesday.
According to
a Miami Herald analysis of weekly COVID-19 case data, the sharpest increase of Florida COVID-19 infections over the past month has been among kids under the age of 12, who are not yet eligible to receive any of the three vaccines authorized for emergency use in the U.S.
“In our previous iteration of the pandemic, it was more they’re positive but they’re not sick or minimally sick,” he explained. “This is different... There’s a much higher percentage of pediatric patients becoming infected and symptomatic.”
Despite the latest surge, Florida Gov.
Ron DeSantis (R) has pushed back against implementing a statewide mask mandate or vaccination requirements, and has even signed directives banning mask mandates in public schools and preventing businesses from requiring proof of vaccination.
The number of new COVID-19 hospitalizations among children is rising in Florida as the state faces a surge in cases due in part to the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant of the c…
thehill.com