Coronavirus Risks for Children, Vaccinated, Unvaccinated, and Comorbidities

A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has presented a detailed analysis of childhood coronavirus hospitalizations and found that several risk factors are increasing children’s chance for severe complications. Results from the study showed that unvaccinated children and those with underlying medical conditions were at the highest risk of hospitalization from Omicron variant infections.  

Using data analytics, scientists at the CDC studied hospitalizations from December 19, 2021, through February 28, 2022, and found that hospitalization rates were twice as high for unvaccinated children compared to their vaccinated peers. Additionally, 67% of children hospitalized with COVID-19 also suffered from one or more underlying medical conditions.  

Of all children hospitalized, 19% required ICU admission, including 15% who had no underlying medical condition. Black and Hispanic children also made up a little more than one-half (53%) of all hospitalizations. None of the children included in the study died due to their illness.  

In general, children fare much better than adults when infected with COVID-19, and they account for less than half a percent of all COVID-19 deaths during the course of the pandemic. According to early data, children express a diminished pathology compared to adults and are less susceptible to severe immune responses. Children’s underdeveloped immune systems lead to their mild expression of disease and result in more asymptomatic infections.  

As of April 2022, approximately 28% of children aged 5 through 11 have completed a primary vaccination series for COVID-19, which is drastically lower than the national average vaccination rate of 66%. To address this disparity, state Medicaid services have begun to cover coronavirus vaccine counseling programs that address the causes of vaccine hesitancy. 

A closer look at risk factors reveals the negative cost associated with COVID-19 infection and comorbidities. CDC data from 800 hospitals and over five million patients shows that 94.9% of adults hospitalized with COVID-19 had at least one underlying medical condition. The most common of which is essential hypertension, shared by 50% of hospitalized patients. 

Some comorbidities are less obvious, like anxiety and fear-related disorders, which increase the risk of death by 1.28 times compared to patients without comorbidities. Multiple different mental health disorders result in increased COVID-19 infection or death.  

For instance, depression sufferers were 1.13 times more likely to be diagnosed with COVID-19 illness and 1.57 times more likely to die from COVID-19 disease. In addition, those with dementia have a likelihood of testing positive for COVID-19, which is 2.89 times higher than that of a person without any mental disorder. They also have a 2.06 times higher risk of death.  

So far, vaccines are the best deterrent against coronavirus infection and death, but different brands boast varying levels of effectiveness, and that effectiveness can wane over time. A New England Journal of Medicine study using 886,774 patients infected with COVID-19 found that 20 weeks after AstraZeneca immunization, the vaccine had no noticeable vaccine effectiveness against the Omicron variant. In contrast, Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA vaccination had an 8.8% effectiveness rate at 25 weeks. Boosters successfully restored some of the efficacy of each primary course of vaccine, and their long-term use is still being studied.