Prognosis
S. Africa Child Admissions Exceed Elderly Amid Covid Strains
- Children under a year old are particularly susceptible
- Fifth wave of infections caused by omicron sublineages
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The number of South African children younger than nine admitted to hospital with Covid-19 has overtaken the proportion of patients aged over 80 for the first time as new omicron strains dominate infections, the country’s biggest health insurer said.
During South Africa’s fifth wave of coronavirus infections from April 13 to May 27, 17% of all Covid-19 related admissions were children in that age group, Johannesburg-based Discovery Health Ltd. said in a statement sent to Bloomberg that detailed the results of a study of its members. That exceeded admissions for people older than 80 by five percentage points.