Rise In Cases Also Includes Spike Among Children Hospitalized With COVID-19

Local hospitals are seeing an increase in pediatric patients due to this recent surge in COVID-19 cases. 

"If you look at U.S. hospitals for children, they’ve gone up about 60 percent in the two weeks before last week," OU Health Chief COVID Officer Dr. Dale Bratzler said.

As of Wednesday, Dr. Bratzler said OU Children’s Hospital has more than 25 kids hospitalized with COVID complications.

The rise in pediatric hospitalizations is not an Oklahoma trend. The rise is happening in other states, as well.

"They’ve definitely gone up," Bratzler said. “I’ve heard a report from Texas Children's Hospital (in Houston, TX) this morning that they too are seeing a substantial increase in the number of kids that are being hospitalized."

According to the state health department’s daily COVID-19 case update, the 7-day average for overall cases is the highest it's ever been at nearly 7,200 cases. 

The report said there are 37 pediatric hospitalizations statewide.

"Remember: kids under the age of 5 can’t get vaccinated and while it’s recommended, we vaccinate all kids 5 and older," Bratzler said. "There are still a lot of people who have not done so."

Bratzler said there also can be other consequences to children getting the virus. In a recent study, doctors found that kids under 18 who had COVID were more likely to develop diabetes than those who never caught the virus.

"Again, another reason we need to prevent the disease, we don’t want kids getting infected,” Bratzler said.