With the continued spread of the Omicron variant hospitals in Ontario, including at CHEO, say they are seeing a disturbing trend of COVID-19 admission in infants.

Looking to answer parents and caregivers’ most pressing questions about COVID-19 and children, CHEO offered a virtual town hall Thursday night hearing from health experts.

“As we see more infections spread in the community, it’s no surprise that COVID is reaching the most vulnerable members of the household and unvaccinated adults,” said Dr. Nisha Thampi, a pediatric infectious diseases physician and CHEO medical director for infection prevention and control.

Of the 13,339 positive PCR tests in Ontario Thursday, 946 are children under 12 and 1,068 are youth between the ages of 12 and 19. As of Jan. 4, 38 children under 4 years of age are in hospital across the province. With testing limited across Ontario, the true number of cases is likely far higher.

“We’re encouraging anyone who is pregnant get their COVID vaccine or their booster,” Thampi said.

The session comes as Toronto Public Health confirms a child under the age of 4 has died of COVID-19, while the medical officer of health in Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph says a girl under the age of 10 who tested positive for COVID-19 died Monday.

“It is tragic, so heartbreaking to hear these stories,” said infectious diseases expert Dr. Isaac Bogoch. “This is very likely just a reflection of how significant and how much community transmission there is.”

Experts suggest key prevention measures for parents are to have a well-fitted mask when around babies, and limit close contacts as we get through the surge. 

If there are signs of fever in very young babies, a month old or younger, CHEO recommends parents bring them to the hospital right away.