Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Bay of Plenty DHB sees 'high numbers' of children in hospital

Twenty-six children under 10 years old have been admitted to Bay hospitals with Covid-19 near the start of the Omicron outbreak.

This number equated to a third of all people in hospital with the virus during that period.

But the Bay of Plenty District Health Board says most children who were hospitalised responded "quickly" to treatment and were "coming in and out rapidly".

Meanwhile, a Tauranga GP says it is "not particularly surprising" to see "high numbers" of children in hospital, as Omicron cases in the Western Bay had "predominantly" been school-aged children and their whānau.

It comes as the Māori Health team at the district health board launched a campaign to empower whānau to make "informed and holistic decisions" for the health of tamariki.

The latest figures from the board showed 41 per cent of tamariki aged 5 to 11 in the region had at least one dose of the child vaccine.

Yesterday, two people with Covid-19 died in the board's region. There were 73 patients with Covid in the board's hospitals and 1347 new cases.

Data from the Bay of Plenty District Health Board showed there were 80 people in hospital with Covid between February 21 and March 6. This figure included patients who were already in the hospital on February 21 and excluded ED presentations and discharges.

Of the 80 in hospital, 26 were aged between 0 and 9.

Ten were from the 20 to 29 age group, nine from the 30 to 39 age group and eight from the 10 to 19 age group.

The average length of stay for the hospitalised cases was 2.78 days.

An ethnicity breakdown showed 37 were New Zealand European/Pākehā, 30 were Māori, five were Asian, four were Pacific and four were other European.

A gender breakdown showed 41 were male and 39 were female.

Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief medical officer Kate Grimwade. Photo / George Novak

The board's chief medical officer Kate Grimwade said most children who were hospitalised were "coming in and out rapidly".

Some children were in hospital due to Covid and others because they had another problem but also had Covid.

She said children often responded "quickly" to treatment but it was clear "large numbers of children" were affected in the community.

Grimwade said children often had mild or no symptoms, and sometimes symptoms were "more unusual" such as abdominal pain or vomiting.

"This tells us that there are lots of children in the community who will have Covid that goes unrecognised.

"This can be a source of infection spreading through the community. We know this is the case due to the large numbers off school."

"Vaccination can help to prevent this, along with other measures such as wearing masks."

Fifth Avenue Medical Centre GP Dr Luke Bradford. Photo / George Novak

Fifth Avenue Medical Centre GP Dr Luke Bradford said it was "not particularly surprising" to see "high numbers" of children in hospital.

At least two vaccine doses were needed to "really be making a dent" in the severity of Covid and children had not had the opportunity to have two doses yet, he said.

Five to 11-year-olds became eligible for the vaccine on January 17. They could get two paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least eight weeks apart, the Ministry of Health website says.

Bradford said the Omicron outbreak in the Western Bay had "predominantly" been focused on school-aged children and their whānau.

"We see it with all bugs ... kids just spread it so that was to be expected."

He said there had been "a very typical pattern" with children going to hospital with Covid which was similar to other respiratory viruses. They would go in for short periods often just for the day or overnight.

Bradford said at the start of the illness, Covid could make children "very hot" and they could have a loss of liquid due to their sore throats and fevers.

"We know that actually if we can just bring their temperatures down and get fluids into those kids then most of them are certainly just fine."

Bradford asked parents of 5 to 11-year-olds to "really consider" having the vaccine to protect them and the community and to have an "open line of communication" with Healthline or your GP.

"If you are worried then we can liaise in and see if hospital admission is a good idea ... but absolutely safety first - if you're very concerned go and get your child reviewed."

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington. Photo / George Novak

Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington said every school across the Western Bay had "large numbers" of students away due to Covid-19. Staff were also affected.

Most learning was on-site but learning was provided at home for any students off-site due to Covid, she said.

"All schools are managing that as best they can with the numbers of teachers that are well."

The board's Covid-19 programme senior responsible officer Brent Gilbert-De Rios said it encouraged parents and caregivers to protect their 5 to 11-year-old tamariki against Covid with the child vaccine.

"Immunisation is an important way we keep tamariki safe, like being sun smart or wearing a seatbelt.

"It's important parents seek trusted information about the children's Covid-19 vaccine and the protection it offers our tamariki and whānau."

Te Pare ō Toi, the board's Māori Health team, launched a campaign last week to empower mātua [parents] and kaumatua [grandparents] to make "informed and holistic decisions" about the health of their tamariki [children] and mokopuna [grandchildren].

Manukura [leader] Marama Tauranga said the campaign would focus on connecting whānau to credible vaccination information from trusted sources.

"However the surrounding and future messages are much wider than that and encompass a whānau's hinengaro [mental and emotional], tinana [body] and wairua [spirit]."

The campaign included hapori [community] collaboration events, videos, posters for providers and GPs and online events.