BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - The Covid picture with children in Western New York is currently showing two trends. An increase in pediatric cases and a large number of pregnant women are being admitted with Covid.
Dr. Stephen Turkovich, Chief Medical Officer at John R. Oishei Children's Hospital shared data with WBEN Wednesday morning.
"As a community, we're seeing an increase in cases in both emergency room visits and in-person admissions," said Dr. Turkovich.
"Just during the first week of September, we're on track to meet Covid numbers from April, the busiest month for Covid at Oishei since the pandemic started," he said.
Turkovich said the number of cases in the community parallel the number of pediatric cases.
The second trend, which is most concerning to Turkovich, is that the hospital a large number of pregnant women being admitted with Covid. "Some of them require ICU care and mechanical ventilation."
Additionally, Turkovich said RSV, Respiratory syncytial virus, is making a vicious comeback. "We're actually on track with numbers from November of 2019. That was when we started an RSV surge." Between Covid and RSV cases, Turkovich said the hospital is near capacity.
RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. Most people recover in a week or two, but RSV can be serious, especially for infants and older adults. RSV is the most common cause of bronchiolitis (inflammation of the small airways in the lung) and pneumonia (infection of the lungs) in children younger than 1 year of age in the United States.
Regarding Covid admissions, Dr. Turkovich said a few children have been admitted to the Intensive Care Unit(ICU). "Fortunately today there is only one child in the ICU. But as the number of cases go up, there is a higher risk for kids to be admitted." Still, he said Covid is generally mild in children.
As tens of thousands of children are now heading to school, many for the first time since March of 2020, Dr. Turkovich identified several steps to keep everyone safe in school. Best practices include a layered approach to masking, vaccinations where possible, and isolating and testing when you feel ill at home.
Considering everything that Turkovich just said, would he consider going to Highmark Stadium for the Bills home opener with 70-thousand fans on
Sunday?
"Absolutely! I'm fully vaccinated. I would wear a mask. I think it can be done safely. Life is about balance. I think it's important to make sure that we are taking care of ourselves, our mental and physical health, and doing things that we know will keep us safe, but not limiting ourselves, because life is about living," said Dr. Stephen Turkovich.
