Orange County leaders say hospitalizations remain steady even as the highly contagious Omicron variant collides with holiday gatherings, causing record numbers of coronavirus cases.
That includes pediatric hospitalizations. Eleven pediatric hospitalizations were reported this week in Orange County. Three of the cases were in the intensive care unit.
Dr. Candace Jones is a pediatrician in Orlando. She expects the number to rise, following the trend in other major cities. She says most of the hospitalized kids are not fully vaccinated.
“This is preventable. We know that for individuals that are fully vaccinated that your chance of having severe outcomes like being hospitalized and dying from Covid-19 is lower.”
The surging number of cases has swamped local testing sites, where some waits have stretched as long as five hours. School resumes next week after the winter break.
