Omicron surge annoys parents of children too young for the shots

Afternoon with Grammy. Birthday parties. Meeting with other toddlers at the park. Parents of children too young to be vaccinated face tough choices as a wave fueled by a variant of omicron in COVID-19 cases makes every encounter risky.

For Erin Connolly, a business owner in Maine, the most heartbreaking decision involves Madeleine, her 3-year-old daughter and Connolly’s mother, who takes care of the girl one day a week when she is away from home. kindergarten.

It’s a great time to bake cookies, go to the library or just go out. But the spirited little girl resists wearing a mask, and with the highly contagious variant spreading at a breakneck pace, Connolly says she wonders how long this can go on “and when that feels too dangerous “.

Connolly, of West Bath, said she was less worried about Madeleine and her vaccinated 6-year-old son contracting the virus and more about the impact the illness and separation would have on grandparents. But she is also concerned that her vaccinated parents are contracting breakthrough cases.

A d

Although health experts say omicron appears to cause less severe illness and lead to fewer hospitalizations, its rapid spread indicates that it is much more contagious than other variants. Nearly 718,000 cases of COVID were reported on Tuesday, according to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Omicron is currently the culprit in more than 90% of cases in the United States, a staggering increase from less than 10% two weeks ago.

“The sheer volume of infections due to its deep transmissibility will mean many more children will be infected,” Dr Anthony Fauci said in a White House briefing on Wednesday.

COVID cases among American children and adolescents nearly doubled in the last two weeks of December, totaling nearly 326,000 in the last week alone, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

The omicron-fueled surge also put children in hospital In record numbers: During the week of December 27, 2021 to January 2, 2022, an average of 672 children aged 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus – more than double the number the previous week. However, children still represent a small percentage of people hospitalized.

A d

Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease doctor, said surrounding children with vaccinated adults is one way to prevent them from contracting the virus. Health officials also reiterate that face masks prevent transmission, and putting them on children 2 and older in public and group places can help keep them safe.

Connolly, 39, and her mother had a difficult conversation Tuesday morning about the dilemma.

“Will Madeleine be masked?” His mother asked. “I said, ‘We’re trying, but I don’t know if she will,’ ” Connolly recalls.“ I said, ‘Does that mean Thursdays with the Grammys are going to be gone?’ She said, “I’m not sure yet,” Connolly said, fighting back tears.

Parents who had hoped the New Year might bring a COVID vaccine for young children suffered a setback when Pfizer announced last month that two doses were not providing as much protection as they hoped for in young people aged 2 to 4 year.

Researchers were disappointed by the setback but are working to restart studies using a third dose of the vaccine, said Dr Yvonne Maldonado, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at Stanford University School of Medicine. Maldonado is leading the university’s Pfizer vaccine studies in children under 12.

A d

Maldonado said she understands the frustration of parents of young children, but advises them to avoid unnecessary travel during this current wave and to make sure their daycares, preschools and other care providers require masks and take the necessary ones. other recommended precautions.

Watching the spread of omicron, Honolulu resident Jacob Aki is considering giving up a first birthday party for his 10-month-old son. Celebrating this milestone is significant in her native Hawaiian culture. The tradition dates back to a time before the measles vaccine was available, when it was a feat to reach its first birthday. The family also canceled plans to experience snow in Canada. Meanwhile, every cough and sniffle causes anxiety.

“Babies normally get sick at this age,” Aki said. “But with everything that has COVID… the anxiety is high.”

Heather Cimellaro, a technology teacher from Auburn, Maine, says she worries more than ever about keeping her identical 3-year-old twins healthy. One of them had medical problems related to his premature birth and the family regularly travels to Boston to see a specialist.

A d

“COVID can really put the brakes on these plans,” Cimellaro said.

Cimellaro, 33, says omicron has rethought shopping with the twins, storytime visits to the library, even preschool, located in a health center for the elderly. She is concerned that boys could catch COVID and pass it on to their “boyfriends.”

“It’s just a lot of worry, ‘Am I doing the right thing?'” She said. “That’s the thing. I am not an epidemiologist. I don’t know how dangerous it is for them. So it’s kind of like this debate with myself. ”

Erin Stanley of Berrien Springs, Michigan, said she and her husband have cut back their social lives because of omicron to help protect their 3-year-old son, Ralph. They are both vaccinated and boosted, but they fear Ralph will fall ill and spread the disease to his young cousin, preschool classmates, grandparents, and a beloved great-grandmother. .

They didn’t see the great-grandmother on Christmas and also skipped a holiday reunion with other parents.

A d

“It was overwhelming,” Stanley said. “We all really wanted it. It just seemed risky.”

Stanley, 35, a cook on a popular organic farm, took Ralph out shopping, a trip he looked forward to and one of his few social interactions outside of kindergarten. But not many buyers are wearing masks, she said, and now that also seems too risky.

The shy little boy has had three recent scares and three negative COVID tests.

“The swab test was really traumatic for him,” said Stanley, who added that “virus” and “swab” were now part of his vocabulary.

“He keeps saying, ‘I don’t want to have a swab!'” She said. “If a vaccine comes for him, we’ll definitely get it.”

___

Associated Press writer Jennifer Sinco Kelleher in Honolulu contributed to this report.

___

Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner at @LindseyTanner.

A d

___

The Associated Press’s Department of Health and Science receives support from the Department of Science Education at Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The AP is solely responsible for all content.