Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021

Valentine Wanga; Megan E. Gerdes; Dallas S. Shi; Rewa Choudhary; Theresa M. Dulski; Sophia Hsu; Osatohamwen I. Idubor; Bryant J. Webber; Arthur M. Wendel; Nickolas T. Agathis; Kristi Anderson; Tricia Boyles; Sophia K. Chiu; Eleanor S. Click; Juliana da Silva; Hannah Dupont; Mary Evans; Jeremy A.W. Gold; Julia Haston; Pamela Logan; Susan A. Maloney; Marisol Martinez; Pavithra Natarajan; Kevin B. Spicer; Mark Swancutt; Valerie A. Stevens; Jessica Brown; Gyan Chandra; Megan Light; Frederick E. Barr; Jessica Snowden; Larry K. Kociolek; Matthew McHugh; David Wessel; Joelle N. Simpson; Kathleen C. Gorman; Kristen A. Breslin; Roberta L. DeBiasi; Aaron Thompson; Mark W. Kline; Julie A. Bloom; Ila R. Singh; Michael Dowlin; Mark Wietecha; Beth Schweitzer; Sapna Bamrah Morris; Emily H. Koumans; Jean Y. Ko; Anne A. Kimball; David A. Siegel

doi:10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021

Valentine Wanga^*, Megan E. Gerdes, Dallas S. Shi, Rewa Choudhary, Theresa M. Dulski, Sophia Hsu, Osatohamwen I. Idubor, Bryant J. Webber, Arthur M. Wendel, Nickolas T. Agathis, Kristi Anderson, Tricia Boyles, Sophia K. Chiu, Eleanor S. Click, Juliana da Silva, Hannah Dupont, Mary Evans, Jeremy A.W. Gold, Julia Haston, Pamela LoganSusan A. Maloney, Marisol Martinez, Pavithra Natarajan, Kevin B. Spicer, Mark Swancutt, Valerie A. Stevens, Jessica Brown, Gyan Chandra, Megan Light, Frederick E. Barr, Jessica Snowden, Larry K. Kociolek, Matthew McHugh, David Wessel, Joelle N. Simpson, Kathleen C. Gorman, Kristen A. Breslin, Roberta L. DeBiasi, Aaron Thompson, Mark W. Kline, Julie A. Bloom, Ila R. Singh, Michael Dowlin, Mark Wietecha, Beth Schweitzer, Sapna Bamrah Morris, Emily H. Koumans, Jean Y. Ko, Anne A. Kimball, David A. Siegel

^*Corresponding author for this work

Pediatrics

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

71 Scopus citations

Abstract

What is already known about this topic? Pediatric COVID-19–related hospitalization rates increased when the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant became the predominant circulating strain. What is added by this report? Among children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to six hospitals during July–August 2021, 77.9% were hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Among these patients, approximately one third aged <5 years had a viral coinfection (approximately two thirds of which were respiratory syncytial virus) and approximately two thirds of those aged 12–17 years had obesity; only 0.4% of age-eligible patients were fully vaccinated. What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 vaccination and other prevention strategies are important to protect children from COVID-19, particularly children with obesity and other underlying health conditions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1766-1772
Number of pages	7
Journal	Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Volume	70
Issue number	5152
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3
State	Published - 2021

Funding

All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children’s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children’s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children’s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children’s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health(social science)
Health Information Management
Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Epidemiology

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

Cite this

Wanga, V., Gerdes, M. E., Shi, D. S., Choudhary, R., Dulski, T. M., Hsu, S., Idubor, O. I., Webber, B. J., Wendel, A. M., Agathis, N. T., Anderson, K., Boyles, T., Chiu, S. K., Click, E. S., da Silva, J., Dupont, H., Evans, M., Gold, J. A. W., Haston, J., ... Siegel, D. A. (2021). Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 70(5152), 1766-1772. https://doi.org/10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

@article{6b564d7ecbc841a185a4e9a09bdd7333,

title = "Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021",

abstract = "What is already known about this topic? Pediatric COVID-19–related hospitalization rates increased when the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant became the predominant circulating strain. What is added by this report? Among children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to six hospitals during July–August 2021, 77.9% were hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Among these patients, approximately one third aged <5 years had a viral coinfection (approximately two thirds of which were respiratory syncytial virus) and approximately two thirds of those aged 12–17 years had obesity; only 0.4% of age-eligible patients were fully vaccinated. What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 vaccination and other prevention strategies are important to protect children from COVID-19, particularly children with obesity and other underlying health conditions.",

author = "Valentine Wanga and Gerdes, {Megan E.} and Shi, {Dallas S.} and Rewa Choudhary and Dulski, {Theresa M.} and Sophia Hsu and Idubor, {Osatohamwen I.} and Webber, {Bryant J.} and Wendel, {Arthur M.} and Agathis, {Nickolas T.} and Kristi Anderson and Tricia Boyles and Chiu, {Sophia K.} and Click, {Eleanor S.} and {da Silva}, Juliana and Hannah Dupont and Mary Evans and Gold, {Jeremy A.W.} and Julia Haston and Pamela Logan and Maloney, {Susan A.} and Marisol Martinez and Pavithra Natarajan and Spicer, {Kevin B.} and Mark Swancutt and Stevens, {Valerie A.} and Jessica Brown and Gyan Chandra and Megan Light and Barr, {Frederick E.} and Jessica Snowden and Kociolek, {Larry K.} and Matthew McHugh and David Wessel and Simpson, {Joelle N.} and Gorman, {Kathleen C.} and Breslin, {Kristen A.} and DeBiasi, {Roberta L.} and Aaron Thompson and Kline, {Mark W.} and Bloom, {Julie A.} and Singh, {Ila R.} and Michael Dowlin and Mark Wietecha and Beth Schweitzer and Morris, {Sapna Bamrah} and Koumans, {Emily H.} and Ko, {Jean Y.} and Kimball, {Anne A.} and Siegel, {David A.}",

note = "Funding Information: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. Funding Information: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek Funding Information: reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children{\textquoteright}s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Department of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved.",

year = "2021",

doi = "10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "70",

pages = "1766--1772",

journal = "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report",

issn = "0149-2195",

publisher = "Department of Health and Human Services",

number = "5152",

}

Wanga, V, Gerdes, ME, Shi, DS, Choudhary, R, Dulski, TM, Hsu, S, Idubor, OI, Webber, BJ, Wendel, AM, Agathis, NT, Anderson, K, Boyles, T, Chiu, SK, Click, ES, da Silva, J, Dupont, H, Evans, M, Gold, JAW, Haston, J, Logan, P, Maloney, SA, Martinez, M, Natarajan, P, Spicer, KB, Swancutt, M, Stevens, VA, Brown, J, Chandra, G, Light, M, Barr, FE, Snowden, J, Kociolek, LK, McHugh, M, Wessel, D, Simpson, JN, Gorman, KC, Breslin, KA, DeBiasi, RL, Thompson, A, Kline, MW, Bloom, JA, Singh, IR, Dowlin, M, Wietecha, M, Schweitzer, B, Morris, SB, Koumans, EH, Ko, JY, Kimball, AA & Siegel, DA 2021, 'Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021', Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, vol. 70, no. 5152, pp. 1766-1772. https://doi.org/10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021. / Wanga, Valentine; Gerdes, Megan E.; Shi, Dallas S. et al.
In: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, Vol. 70, No. 5152, 2021, p. 1766-1772.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021

AU - Wanga, Valentine

AU - Gerdes, Megan E.

AU - Shi, Dallas S.

AU - Choudhary, Rewa

AU - Dulski, Theresa M.

AU - Hsu, Sophia

AU - Idubor, Osatohamwen I.

AU - Webber, Bryant J.

AU - Wendel, Arthur M.

AU - Agathis, Nickolas T.

AU - Anderson, Kristi

AU - Boyles, Tricia

AU - Chiu, Sophia K.

AU - Click, Eleanor S.

AU - da Silva, Juliana

AU - Dupont, Hannah

AU - Evans, Mary

AU - Gold, Jeremy A.W.

AU - Haston, Julia

AU - Logan, Pamela

AU - Maloney, Susan A.

AU - Martinez, Marisol

AU - Natarajan, Pavithra

AU - Spicer, Kevin B.

AU - Swancutt, Mark

AU - Stevens, Valerie A.

AU - Brown, Jessica

AU - Chandra, Gyan

AU - Light, Megan

AU - Barr, Frederick E.

AU - Snowden, Jessica

AU - Kociolek, Larry K.

AU - McHugh, Matthew

AU - Wessel, David

AU - Simpson, Joelle N.

AU - Gorman, Kathleen C.

AU - Breslin, Kristen A.

AU - DeBiasi, Roberta L.

AU - Thompson, Aaron

AU - Kline, Mark W.

AU - Bloom, Julie A.

AU - Singh, Ila R.

AU - Dowlin, Michael

AU - Wietecha, Mark

AU - Schweitzer, Beth

AU - Morris, Sapna Bamrah

AU - Koumans, Emily H.

AU - Ko, Jean Y.

AU - Kimball, Anne A.

AU - Siegel, David A.

N1 - Funding Information: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children’s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children’s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. Funding Information: All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. Ila R. Singh reports funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a coinvestigator for grant no. R61HD105593 to characterize pediatric COVID-19. Roberta L. DeBiasi reports grant support and contracts for COVID-19 and MIS-C, unrelated to the current work; consulting fees from I-ACT for Children; honoraria from the Infectious Diseases in Children Conference (NYC) and Children’s Hospital Colorado Infectious Diseases Conference (Denver); and unpaid membership on the board of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society. Larry K. Kociolek Funding Information: reports a grant from the Walder Foundation Chicago Coronavirus Assessment Network Initiative, institutional support from Merck and NIH/NIAID; and honoraria for educational events at Northwest Community Hospital and Nemours/duPont Children’s Hospital. Jessica Snowden reports institutional support from NIH Office of the Director–ECHO program and NIH/NHLBI–RECOVER program, unrelated to the current work. Frederick E. Barr reports application of patent 17364280 with Asklepion Pharmaceuticals for L-citrulline to prevent or treat endothelial dysfunction. Sapna Bamrah Morris and Sophia K. Chiu report membership on a data safety monitoring board in a study of ivermectin for treatment of severe COVID-19 in Ghana. Sophia Hsu reports ownership of 5 shares of Moderna stock and 7 shares of Novavax stock, and ownership within the past 36 months (but no current ownership) of stock in BioNTech, Gilead Sciences, and Pfizer. Theresa M. Dulski reports that her husband receives restricted stock units as part of his compensation from his employer, a cancer diagnostics company that also performs COVID-19 testing. No other potential conflicts of interest were disclosed. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Department of Health and Human Services. All rights reserved.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - What is already known about this topic? Pediatric COVID-19–related hospitalization rates increased when the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant became the predominant circulating strain. What is added by this report? Among children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to six hospitals during July–August 2021, 77.9% were hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Among these patients, approximately one third aged <5 years had a viral coinfection (approximately two thirds of which were respiratory syncytial virus) and approximately two thirds of those aged 12–17 years had obesity; only 0.4% of age-eligible patients were fully vaccinated. What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 vaccination and other prevention strategies are important to protect children from COVID-19, particularly children with obesity and other underlying health conditions.

AB - What is already known about this topic? Pediatric COVID-19–related hospitalization rates increased when the highly transmissible SARS-CoV-2 B.1.617.2 (Delta) variant became the predominant circulating strain. What is added by this report? Among children and adolescents with SARS-CoV-2 infection admitted to six hospitals during July–August 2021, 77.9% were hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Among these patients, approximately one third aged <5 years had a viral coinfection (approximately two thirds of which were respiratory syncytial virus) and approximately two thirds of those aged 12–17 years had obesity; only 0.4% of age-eligible patients were fully vaccinated. What are the implications for public health practice? COVID-19 vaccination and other prevention strategies are important to protect children from COVID-19, particularly children with obesity and other underlying health conditions.

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U2 - 10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

DO - 10.15585/MMWR.MM705152A3

M3 - Article

C2 - 34968374

AN - SCOPUS:85123037516

SN - 0149-2195

VL - 70

SP - 1766

EP - 1772

JO - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

JF - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report

IS - 5152

ER -

Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Children and Adolescents Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with COVID-19 — Six Hospitals, United States, July–August 2021

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UN SDGs

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