Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Vaccine-Eligible US Children Under-5 Years Hospitalized for Acute COVID-19 in a National Network

Background and objectives: In June 2022, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was recommended for young children. We examined clinical characteristics and factors associated with vaccination status among vaccine-eligible young children hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Methods: We enrolled inpatients aged 8 months to <5 years with acute community-acquired COVID-19 across 28 US pediatric hospitals from September 20, 2022 to May 31, 2023. We assessed demographic and clinical factors, including the highest level of respiratory support, and vaccination status defined as unvaccinated, incomplete, or complete primary series [at least 2 (Moderna) or 3 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine doses ≥14 days before hospitalization]. Results: Among 597 children, 174 (29.1%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and 75 (12.6%) had a life-threatening illness, including 51 (8.5%) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. Children with underlying respiratory and neurologic/neuromuscular conditions more frequently received higher respiratory support. Only 4.5% of children hospitalized for COVID-19 (n = 27) had completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series and 7.0% (n = 42) of children initiated but did not complete their primary series. Among 528 unvaccinated children, nearly half (n = 251) were previously healthy, 3 of them required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute COVID-19 and 1 died. Conclusions: Most young children hospitalized for acute COVID-19, including most children admitted to the intensive care unit and with life-threatening illness, had not initiated COVID-19 vaccination despite being eligible. Nearly half of these children had no underlying conditions. Of the small percentage of children who initiated a COVID-19 primary series, most had not completed it before hospitalization.

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Publication Details

Journal
UNC Libraries
Published
2024-12-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.17615/84zd-jd09
Primary Topic
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Vaccine-Eligible US Children Under-5 Years Hospitalized for Acute COVID-19 in a National Network

Satoshi Kamidani, Jennifer E. Schuster, Janet R. Hume, Margaret M. Newhams et al.
UNC Libraries
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
article

Characteristics and Clinical Outcomes of Vaccine-Eligible US Children Under-5 Years Hospitalized for Acute COVID-19 in a National Network

Satoshi Kamidani, Jennifer E. Schuster, Janet R. Hume, Margaret M. Newhams, Tamara T. Bradford, Katherine Irby, Ryan A. Nofziger, Charlotte V. Hobbs, Regina M. Simeone, Natalie Z. Cvijanovich, Natasha Halasa, Kathleen Chiotos, Hillary Crandall, Samina S. Bhumbra, Julie A. Boom, Aline B. Maddux, Melissa A. Cameron, Katherine E. Fleming‐Dutra, Mia Maamari, Overcoming COVID- Investigators, Saul Hymes, Mary Allen Staat, Laura D. Zambrano, Stephanie P. Schwartz, Shira J. Gertz, Matt S. Zinter, Emily R. Levy, Tracie C. Walker, Cindy Bowens, Adrienne G. Randolph, Judith A. Guzman‐Cottrill, Elizabeth H. Mack, Pia S. Pannaraj, Michele Kong, Leila C. Sahni, Katherine Bline, Angela P. Campbell, Amber O. Orzel-Lockwood, Michael Wu
article en

Abstract

Background and objectives: In June 2022, the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination was recommended for young children. We examined clinical characteristics and factors associated with vaccination status among vaccine-eligible young children hospitalized for acute COVID-19. Methods: We enrolled inpatients aged 8 months to <5 years with acute community-acquired COVID-19 across 28 US pediatric hospitals from September 20, 2022 to May 31, 2023. We assessed demographic and clinical factors, including the highest level of respiratory support, and vaccination status defined as unvaccinated, incomplete, or complete primary series [at least 2 (Moderna) or 3 (Pfizer-BioNTech) mRNA vaccine doses ≥14 days before hospitalization]. Results: Among 597 children, 174 (29.1%) patients were admitted to the intensive care unit and 75 (12.6%) had a life-threatening illness, including 51 (8.5%) requiring invasive mechanical ventilation. Children with underlying respiratory and neurologic/neuromuscular conditions more frequently received higher respiratory support. Only 4.5% of children hospitalized for COVID-19 (n = 27) had completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series and 7.0% (n = 42) of children initiated but did not complete their primary series. Among 528 unvaccinated children, nearly half (n = 251) were previously healthy, 3 of them required extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for acute COVID-19 and 1 died. Conclusions: Most young children hospitalized for acute COVID-19, including most children admitted to the intensive care unit and with life-threatening illness, had not initiated COVID-19 vaccination despite being eligible. Nearly half of these children had no underlying conditions. Of the small percentage of children who initiated a COVID-19 primary series, most had not completed it before hospitalization.

UNC Libraries
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Openalex Percentile: Top 67%
Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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