Children impacted in greater numbers during current COVID surge

ALBANY — Area hospitals have seen the number of COVID patients admitted average 23 per day over the past week, and the current surge has sickened a much larger percentage of children than was the case during previous surges.

As of Friday, there were 180 patients hospitalized in Phoebe Putney Health System facilities, including 149 in Albany, 25 in Americus and six in Sylvester.

So far in January, the hospital has admitted eight patients younger than 18 out of a total of 26 that have been hospitalized since 2020. The January admissions of pediatric patients is 24 percent of children admitted during the course of the pandemic.

“We are definitely seeing a greater impact on children and adolescents with this surge,” Dr. Marie Jean-Baptiste, Phoebe’s pediatric hospitalist, said. “As admissions have increased, we have also given monoclonal antibody treatments to more children who are ill with COVID but who do not require hospitalization. And we are seeing more patients whose underlying conditions are being exacerbated by the virus.”

The physician urged parents to have their children vaccinated and to be cautious around those who are too young to get the vaccine.

“While the vaccine doesn’t completely protect against infection, it does help minimize the impact of the virus, and it has been proven safe for children,” Jean-Baptiste said.

The Dougherty County School System also has noted the increase in children who have been infected or exposed to someone with COVID.

For the week ended Jan. 20, the system reported 362 positive student cases and that another 293 were in quarantine after potential exposure to the virus. During that time, 65 staff members tested positive and an additional 38 were quarantined.

The school system has maintained its mask requirement and held vaccine clinics, and the positivity rate of 17.9 percent among staff and students is about a third of that of the state’s 31.4 percent positivity rate. The school with the highest case numbers was Radium Springs Middle School, where 58 students tested positive over the previous week.

Over the past week, Phoebe averaged 23 new admissions per day, resulting in a 36 percent increase in the number of patients hospitalized, and that incline is expected to continue.

“Unfortunately, we have not yet reached the peak of this latest surge,” health system President and CEO Scott Steiner said. “We are dealing with extremely high volumes in our emergency centers and our inpatient units as admissions continue to outpace discharges.

“We ask everyone to be patient when seeking care in an ER. We understand waiting is difficult, but our teams are providing the care our patients need, as quickly as possible.”

Phoebe also asked the public to be understanding of visitation restrictions and abide by safety protocols at all hospital facilities, including wearing a surgical mask provided by the hospital as well as a cloth mask.

“These protocols are necessary to protect our patients, staff and community,” Dr. Dianna Grant, chief medical officer for the health system, said. “Research shows double masking to ensure a tight fit offers enhanced protection, which is especially important as we deal with an extremely contagious virus variant.

“Our dedicated and hard-working teams have been serving our communities under extreme stress for nearly two years. We simply want everyone to treat them with the respect and appreciation they deserve, as we all work together to get through this pandemic.”

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