There's been a startling increase in child hospitalizations due to COVID-19. On average, pediatric hospitalizations are up 35% in the U.S. over the past week.
It was the day after Christmas when Jordan Neff said his son Jack began running a fever so high that he began having a seizure.
"What happened yesterday was one of the worst things in my life and I certainly wouldn't want that for anyone else," Neff said.
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An ambulance rushed two-year-old Jack to a Cincinnati children's hospital to find out the toddler had tested positive for COVID-19.
"We took every precaution imaginable and it still hit us in a way that was incredibly scary," Neff said.
States experiencing the bulk of the highly contagious Omicron variant — like New York — warn the number of children hospitalized with the virus is increasing rapidly.
While Omicron appears to be less severe, researchers say it appears to affect the upper respiratory tract and if that's the case, it could be more contagious in children.
Those like Jack are too young for a vaccine that could reduce the severity of a COVID-19 case. His parents say they're thankful the rest of their family is vaccinated because things could've been much worse.
