An Analysis of Pediatric Covid Hospitalization Records

57% of Pediatric Covid Hospitalizations were there for something else

One of the main issues with comparing Covid vs Flu in kids is the fact that public health agencies, state agencies, hospitals, and other governmental health agencies do not count Covid-19 hospitalizations the same way that we count flu hospitalizations. Typically, we have relied on ILI (Influenza Like Illness) surveillance to estimate the burden of hospitalizations caused by flu. We’ve never relied on total positive tests for flu, nor have we ever tested every single person in the hospital for flu. For Sars-Cov2, it’s different. A positive test is all it takes to count as a “Covid hospitalization.” This way of counting is unprecedented and does not follow best practice in medicine. It has also caused major disruption in the lives of children due to policies being based on a positive test, rather than actual symptoms.

After obtaining a de-identified patient-level data set via public records request from the Rhode Island Department of Health, I have undertaken an effort to contextualize Pediatric Covid hospitalization records. In the below bullet points, I will compare with flu hospitalizations, all-cause hospitalizations, and look deeper into the primary reasons why these kids were admitted.