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GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – The omicron variant of COVID has been rampant in Mississippi schools. Just last week, more than 10,000 students tested positive. That’s almost half of the yearly total for children.
“We have numerous adults and children sick,” said Dr. Dimitrios Dimitriades, Director of Family Medicine at Memorial Hospital at Gulfport. “It’s going through every school, everyday care. It did in the summertime, which was predominantly Delta, and it’s going now at an even higher rate with is predominantly Omicron.”
Memorial Hospital held a vaccine event tonight for adults and children older than 12 at Lynn Meadows Discovery Center in Gulfport. Noemi Rico of Gulfport came in for her booster. Her six-year-old daughter has already received her first shot.
“We’re just trying to be safe. We’re doing our part in trying to keep the COVID numbers down. And I don’t want to be responsible for getting anyone else sick,” Rico said.
Omicron has been widely reported to be less dangerous than the Delta variant, but the protection of vaccines has kept infected people out of the hospital.
“The biggest thing we’re seeing is, if you have antibodies, the subsequent disease is lesser, It’s not as intense, you’re not going to get hospitalized, or at least a much lesser chance of betting hospitalized,” he said.
10 children in Mississippi have died from COVID, the most recent was this week. None of those children had been vaccinated.
“Yes we’ve had our 10th death since COVID started in pediatrics, that should be taken seriously but that shouldn’t be a panic button,” Dimitriades said.
Only 7% of Mississippi children aged 5-11 are fully vaccinated. For those aged 12-17, 37% are fully vaccinated.
“So the general recommendation is yes, we should all get the vaccine. But the more correct and tougher solution is to talk to your doctor and individualize it,” he said. “Because some folks may have questions, you know ‘My child already had COVID, do they need the vaccine?’ I would leave that to that child’s physician.
“I think everything in medicine should be an informed decision. Your doctor is out there for a reason. Go to your child’s doctor, their pediatrician, talk to your doctor, get their advice.”
More than 18% of Mississippi’s total reported COVID cases have been in children age 17 or younger. That’s just below the national average.
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