Report shows second year of COVID-19 most severe for Canadian children
A recent report from the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) says the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic was particularly tough on Canada's youngest children in terms of hospitalizations.
It found COVID-19 was the sixth most common reason newborns to four-year-olds were hospitalized in 2021-22, with 2,315 patients in that age range.
The numbers rose from 325 patients in 2020-21 -- a 600 per cent increase.
"Some of those other respiratory infections, things like pneumonia, and viral causes have come back," said Nicole Loreti from CIHI. "They've returned to the top 10 in the second year of the pandemic after a decline in the first year."
She added "looking at reports and data like ours can help provide a better understanding and some insights into the reasons that Canadians are going to hospital."
There was a surge of children's hospitalizations for COVID between 2020-21 and 2021-22
PARENTS STRUGGLED
Some parents say the virus was under-recognized for children under age four, and the lack of available vaccines at the time didn't help.
Sarah Elder-Chamanara says her children were one and three years old when they had COVID-19 symptoms last winter, and that protecting her children from the virus was stressful.
"It was a struggle, especially in the early days when testing wasn't available," she said.
She says during the early waves of the pandemic, protections for small children were neglected, especially as vaccines for children between six months and five years old were not available until August 2022.
"I really feel like our children specifically in the age group under five, but all children in general, were really let down the most during the pandemic," said Elder-Chamanara.
A news release from CIHI sent Thursday says "the increase in hospitalizations for virus-related illnesses coincided with the easing of public health measures across the country."
Alberta Children's Hospital in Calgary
UNDER-RECOGNITION
One pediatric infectious disease expert says COVID-19's impact on children was often downplayed early in the pandemic.
"The disease was under-recognized and children, a lot of children, didn't even get tested. So we were under-testing, and therefore under-recognizing this disease in kids," said Dr. Cora Constantinescu, pediatrician and infectious disease specialist at Alberta Children's Hospital.
She added, "if you have a child who has never had COVID-19, or whose COVID-19 infection is really, really remote, there is great value in getting the vaccine. Similarly, if you have a child who is more medically complex, we know that those kids can end up in hospital."
There are currently 575 Albertans in hospital for COVID-19. Of those, 16 are in the intensive care unit, but the province is not releasing current data breaking down the age range for patients.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.