Dallas area hospital sees increasing number of new Covid-19 cases in children shortly after schools reopened for the new school year

DALLAS – According to Parkland Hospital, an increase in the number of people who test positive for COVID-19 is directly tied to the fact that children are returning to school.

The hospital’s positive rate has more than doubled in the past week, climbing from 20% to 30%. It argues that children are the primary cause of the surge.

Dr. Joseph Chang serves as Parkland Health’s Chief Medical Officer at this time. According to him, the rise can only be attributed to children. The number of cases has more than doubled among people of that age group.

We hadn’t seen that in over a month and a half. We were all really thrilled about that, but then last week that number surged up well past 30%,” he said. “Two weeks ago, we saw the optimism rate slip below 20%. We hadn’t seen that in over a month and a half.” “The only age group in which the number is increasing is those under the age of 17, which is despite the fact that the overall number has decreased.”

In addition to children returning to school, Dr. Chang cites poor vaccination rates as a contributing factor in this outbreak.

He stated that there is a correlation between this age group having the lowest vaccination rate and the fact that it is the least important for parents to have their children immunized.

According to the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, vaccination rates for children under the age of five are lower than two percent of all children.

Dr. Chang noted that less people are paying attention to COVID. The fact that their children are still falling unwell despite our best efforts could lead them to become complacent, which could be harmful to us.

Hundreds of thousands of doses of the new bivalent boosters, which defend against variations, are currently being shipped to the state of Texas. However, only persons over the age of 12 are permitted to purchase them.

According to Chang, “all of the initial vaccinations were made from the original form of the virus.”

A physician in North Texas referred to the upcoming availability of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5 as “great news.”

On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted “emergency use authorization” for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations intended for children under the age of 5, while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is likely to provide their final approval this weekend.

According to Dr. Chang, the vaccine for children aged 12 and under is still highly effective in warding off severe sickness in young people.

According to what he claimed, “almost no one who is vaccinated needs to go to the hospital.”

Dr. Chang has some words of wisdom to share with anyone who is having second thoughts about getting another vaccination or is content with their current level of protection.

He added, “Some of my friends say this is like the survivable flu. There is no need to be vaccinated. I’m here to advise you that you should get vaccinated for the flu.” “Some of my friends say this is like the survivable flu. There is no need to get vaccinated.” It is impossible to predict which of the possible issues you will end up with.

If COVID-19 cases increase in your child’s classroom, experts recommend that you should still consider masking your child until the number of cases decreases. This is especially important if your child will be near grandparents or other people who are susceptible to the illness.