The Omicron variant continues to spread in the United States, where health authorities in New York are seeing an increase in the number of children hospitalized in connection with Covid-19.
The number of Covid-19 cases in the United States continues to rise, with nearly 190,000 new cases daily over the past seven days on average, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Thus, the New York State Department of Health “is closely monitoring an upward trend in pediatric hospitalizations associated with Covid-19,” according to a statement released on Friday.
“The largest increase concerns New York City with admissions which have quadrupled” between the week of December 5 and that of December 19, he said. Half of these admissions concern children under 5, so who are not yet old enough to be vaccinated.
A shortage of tests
The arrival of the new variant, and the end of the year celebrations, synonymous with travel and family reunion, have caused a rush on tests in the United States, where it is difficult in some places to get it.
Doctor Anthony Fauci, senior advisor to the White House in the fight against the pandemic, assured that this shortage would soon be resolved. “One of the problems right now is that the tests will not be fully available to everyone before January,” the epidemiologist told ABC.
President Joe Biden resolved last week to announce massive purchases of tests by the federal state: 500 million kits, which will be distributed free of charge to whoever requests them.
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But these tests will not be delivered until January, which fuels strong criticism against the White House, whose strategy to fight Covid-19 has for weeks been mainly focused on vaccination.
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