Mississippi health officials warn of overcrowding in Delta with 7 children in intensive care unit due to COVID-19

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As the delta variable spreads rapidly across the country, Mississippi officials are warning against hospitalizations of children with severe cases of COVID-19.

Of the seven children currently in the intensive care unit due to COVID-19, two are on ventilators, according to state health official Dr. Thomas Dobbs.

“Delta Surge – be careful,” Dobbs said in a tweet on Tuesday, while sharing an update on the latest hospitalizations.

Dobbs initially said 12 children statewide were in the intensive care unit due to COVID-19, though that was later revised to a smaller number after the hospital corrected its report.

He said, “Please be safe and if you are 12 or older – please protect yourself.”

Children are less likely to get a serious COVID-19 infection than adults. Most have mild symptoms, if any, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but in rare cases, they have developed severe cases that have led to hospitalization or death.

It is not clear what the ages of the seven children are, whether they are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine or if any of them have underlying health conditions that would put them at greater risk of severe illness from COVID-19. ABC News has reached out to the Mississippi Department of Health for more information about the cases.

Dr. Alan Jones, associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, told ABC’s WAPT affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, that his facility is currently treating four pediatric COVID-19 patients, two of whom are on ventilators.

“We’ve had more admissions from children than we had early in the pandemic,” Jones told the station.

A ventilator seen at a hospital in California.

During a press briefing last Friday, Dobbs said the state is experiencing a “alarming” increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, as the highly contagious delta variant, initially identified in India, is rapidly becoming dominant. alternative in the state.

“We pretty much saw a complete takeover of the delta version of our transfer,” Dobbs said during the briefing, noting that the current cases in the state are “almost all deltas.”

Hospital systems aren’t overwhelmed at the moment, but Dobbs said there are “concerns about moving forward, as seen in other states” because of Delta, which has become the dominant alternative nationwide.

The average daily COVID-19 case in Mississippi has more than doubled in the past three weeks. Less than three weeks ago, there were fewer than 100 patients receiving care for COVID-19 in Mississippi. As of July 11, there were approximately 200 people there. Hospital admissions also increased by 26.7% in the past week.

Dobbs said the state has also seen an increase in COVID-19 outbreaks, especially among young adults, at summer activities and nursing homes.

A COVID-19 test marker is displayed at the Mississippi State Fairgrounds in Jackson, Miss., April 8, 2020.

The delta variant is increasing as Mississippi has the second-lowest vaccination rate in the country, with nearly a third of the state’s total population fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Dobbs said the “vast majority” of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the state now are of people who are not immune.

Because of the low vaccination rate, the state health department on Friday advised that those 65 and older or who have chronic medical conditions avoid mass indoor gatherings for several weeks.

“The state’s mass vaccination shortage has put us all at risk, especially the most vulnerable,” Dobbs said.

Editor’s note: The state health official issued a correction by revising the number of hospitalized children with severe COVID-19 cases from 12 to seven.

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