COVID cases of young kids skyrocketing

Hospitalizations of U.S. children under 5 with COVID-19 soared in recent weeks to their highest level since the pandemic began, according to government data released Friday on the only age group not yet eligible for the vaccine.

The worrisome trend in children too young to be vaccinated underscores the need for older kids and adults to get their shots to help protect those around them, said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Since mid-december, the hospitalization rate in these youngest kids has surged to more than 4 in 100,000 children, up from 2.5 per 100,000.

The rate among children ages 5 to 17 is about 1 per 100,000, according to the CDC data, which is drawn from over 250 hospitals in 14 states.

Overall, “pediatric hospitalizations are at their highest rate compared to any prior point in the pandemic,” Walensky said. She noted that just over 50 percent of children ages 12 to 18, and only 16 percent of those 5 to 11, are fully vaccinated.

The overall hospitalization rate among children and teens is still lower than that of any other age group. And they account for less than 5 percent of average new daily hospital admissions, according to the CDC.

As of Tuesday, the average number of under-18 patients admitted to the hospital per day with COVID-19 was 766, double the figure reported just two weeks ago.

In other developments:

■ Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot again blamed the city’s powerful teachers union for a third day of canceled classes in the nation’s third-largest school district Friday, but said she hopes to have a deal soon as negotiations over remote learning and other COVID-19 safety measures continue. But some parents reported that individual schools’ principals already sent notices on Friday warning that they will not be able to hold classes on Monday.

■ The federal Transportation Security Administration on Friday temporarily closed two of four security checkpoints in Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport’s largest terminal because of staffing shortages caused by COVID-19 during the omicron wave.

■ Members of a 410-person Alabama high school marching band that led off this year’s Tournament of Roses Parade with “Yankee Doodle Dandy” have tested positive for COVID-19 since returning home from California. Now the entire school has switched to virtual classes this week because of an outbreak.