OC child under 5 dies from COVID, hospitalizations spike

OC COVID-19 hospitalizations exceed first wave

A child under 5 is among the most recent victims of the COVID-19 pandemic in Orange County. The current spike in cases is officially the second-largest wave in terms of hospitalizations since the beginning of the pandemic.

SANTA ANA, Calif. - A child under five years old has become the latest victim of the COVID-19 pandemic in Orange County, as the omicron variant has led to one of the largest hospitalization spikes the county has seen since the onset of the pandemic.

"We have lost another precious young life to this terrible virus," said Dr. Clayton Chau, director of the OC Health Care Agency. "It is our third pediatric death in Orange County since the start of the pandemic. This is yet another somber reminder that we must continue to do everything we can to protect our loved ones, especially our little ones under 5 years of age who are not able to be vaccinated."

Currently in the U.S., no COVID vaccine has been authorized for use in children under five years old. Earlier this week, the CDC recommended a third dose of a primary vaccine series for certain immunocompromised children aged 5-11.

According to the county, between December 30 and January 5, case rate per 100,000 and daily cases have more than doubled, while hospital and ICU admissions have also spiked.

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"This is now officially the second-largest wave in terms of peak hospitalizations," Andrew Noymer, an epidemiologist and UC Irvine professor of population health and disease prevention, told City News Service on Thursday.

"The silver lining, I think, is that we may have fewer deaths as a proportion of those hospitalized because it seems Omicron results in less ventilator use and less severe outcomes even when hospitalized," he said. "It's possible this won't be as deadly as it looks at first blush, which is not to say it's a nothingburger, because hospitalizations are never to be taken lightly."

Noymer says that "the worst" will be over once hospitalizations trend downward for three consecutive days.

OC health officials maintain that vaccination and getting booster is still the best way to protect yourself from severe illness from COVID-19.

Collectible, at-home COVID tests are available for free for people who live or work in Orange County online at ochealthinfo.com/covidtest.

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City News Service contributed to this report.

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