New numbers show impact coronavirus has on children

Children's National Hospital in D.C. is sharing new numbers that show about a quarter of patients treated there for coronavirus have had to be hospitalized.

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Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, the hospital's Division Chief of Infectious Disease, said Sunday that in the last month, the hospital has treated 145 children with coronavirus. Of that, about 40 were so sick they had to be hospitalized and about ten needed intensive care.

"We think it's important for people to know that this can happen and that it's happening a little more frequently than has been appreciated to date in the United States," said Dr. DeBiasi. "Particularly if you have a child with an underlying condition like a cardiac condition, obesity, asthma, any chronic medical illness-that you should just pay a little more attention and be a little more aware that this could lead to hospitalization or critical care admission. It can also happen in a completely normal child."

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Dr. DeBiasi said the majority of those who had to be hospitalized had an underlying condition and the most common age ranges were under one year old and over 15 years old.

She also says symptoms can vary, and some patients have had a fever, but not a cough and vice versa.

Children's Hospital has not had any coronavirus deaths.

"We don't want parents to panic," she said. "The vast majority of children, even if they have an underlying condition, are going to do OK I'm with this virus. However, we do know that there's a proportion of kids that can get very ill. And so if your child has more than minor symptoms, they should seek care from their pediatrician."

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If you are taking your kids out in the community, the CDC (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/diy-cloth-face-coverings.html) says they should wear a face mask. The exception is if a child is younger than two, due to suffocation risk.