By Froilan Gallardo
Special Correspondent
HEALTH authorities have raised the alarm as more children are now being admitted to hospitals due to Covid-19 here compared to last year when the pandemic started.
Dr. Ted Yu of the Cagayan de Oro City Health Office said they have seen more children or pedia cases ages 12 years old and younger being admitted to hospitals compared to last year.
Yu said they recorded 32 children hospitalized with Covid-19 last week; 35 children in July and 16 in June when the current surge started in the city.
“This is alarming. A year ago the number of children who got sick with Covid-19 was negligible,” Yu said during the daily press briefing here.
Dr. Gina Itchon, head of the research and development unit at the Northern Mindanao Medical Center said the likelihood that the virus afflicts children from 12 years old and below was “very unlikely” a year ago.
“Children are supposed to be resistant to the virus but now we are seeing more children getting sick and in serious condition,” Itchon said.
She said an 11-year-old child died of Covid-19 early this month, indicating that children have become vulnerable to the disease.
The CHO said that one of the patients who was found positive with the Delta variant was a 10-year-old child.
Cagayan de Oro has 21 confirmed Delta variant cases with one death reported in Barangay Canitoan, this city.
Itchon said monitoring the Covid-19 cases of children is now the top priority of her department.
“We should come up with a recommendation after evaluating the cases,” she said.
Itchon noted that the Department of Health is conducting vaccine trials for children but has not prioritized them.
