BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) –The Center for Disease Control released a report Friday that indicates one in four children hospitalized with COVID-19 require intensive care.
In their weekly report on morbidity and mortality in the US, the CDC states that “approximately one in four hospitalized children and adolescents with COVID-19 has required intensive care” since March 2020.
Specifically, the report says that 26.5 percent of the 3,116 children hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and June, 19 2021 were admitted to an ICU.
The Alabama Hospital Association reports that as of Monday, 44 pediatric patients were hospitalized throughout the state due to COVID-19. 17 of those patients, or 39 percent, are in the Intensive Care Unit.
AHA defines an ICU as a “specialty nursing units designed for treating patients facing life-threatening situations”, and patients often need help sustaining basic life functions like breathing.
Several patients, healthcare workers and family members have shared their experiences with COVID-19 in the ICU, using words like “harrowing” and “devastating”.
