New York registers a rise in hospitalizations of children due to covid-19

“Revenues have quadrupled” between the week of December 5 and December 19

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The health authorities of New York confirm an increase in the hospitalizations of children due to the coronavirus, while the micron variant continues to spread through the United States, while the White House promised this Sunday to solve the shortage of tests for covid-19.

The New York State Department of Health “closely monitors a trend toward rise in pediatric hospitalizations associated with covid-19“according to a statement released Friday.

“The biggest rise concerns New York City, with revenues that have quadrupled” between the week of December 5 and December 19, the local government said. Half of this income corresponds to children under 5 years of age, which are not yet of age to be vaccinated.

The number of COVID-19 cases continues to increase dramatically in the United States due to the spread of the micron variant, with a average of more than 175,000 new infections daily in the last week, according to data from Sunday from the CDC, the federal public health agency’s main.

In this scenario, there is a shortage of COVID-19 tests in the country, which coincides with an especially high demand for tests, in particular for kits to be carried out at home, on the occasion of the end of the year holidays.

“One of the problems right now is that (the tests) will not be fully available to everyone until January“, said this Sunday Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House adviser in the fight against the pandemic.

“We are addressing the problem of testing and, very soon, that will be solved,” the epidemiologist told ABC, also acknowledging his frustration at this shortage.

Such coincident events are partly responsible for the “high demand” and the consequent shortage of evidence, according to Fauci.

“Obviously we have to do better.”, comment.

President Joe Biden announced last week the purchase by the federal government of some 500 million kits that will be given free to anyone who requests them.

But these tests will only be available in January, fueling strong criticism of the White House, whose strategy to combat COVID-19 has focused primarily on vaccination.

On December 6, days after the presence of micron in the United States was first detected, to questions from the press, the presidential spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, simply replied: “We should send all Americans a free test, truth?”.

Referring to the characteristics of micron, Fauci indicated this Sunday that it is an “extraordinarily contagious” variant, but cited studies carried out in South Africa and the United Kingdom that seem to indicate that the cases are less dangerous.