Doctor Sean McTigue said all of the pediatric patients hospitalized have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. The most common risk factor among pediatric COVID patients is obesity. He said obesity may be hard to recognize.
“So a child can look fairly average and actually meet the definition of obesity and have higher risk of COVID-19 complications,” McTigue said.
Monoclonal antibody treatments can reduce the severity of COVID-19 illness in children. But the treatment must be administered before a child is severely sick.
If a child tests positive for the virus, McTigue said parents should call the child’s primary care physician immediately to ask about monoclonal antibody treatments.
Kentucky Children’s Hospital has admitted more patients since July than any other time throughout the pandemic.