LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It's a difficult situation at Arkansas Children's Hospital, and it may not be over any time soon.
"We're seeing a lot of kids with COVID in our outpatient clinic and E.R. It hasn't driven hospitalizations to a large degree at this point," Dr. Rick Barr, Executive Vice President for the hospital, said. "We expect the Omicron variant to be here and causing significant infections throughout January and into early February."
The number of COVID-19 cases in kids is going up and unfortunately, those with the hospital are seeing it firsthand.
There's even more concern now as students are heading back to school throughout central Arkansas this week.
And with school back in session, there's no guarantee of a spike in cases, but Dr. Barr is still expecting one.
"Pretty much, the omicron variant is so contagious. It's so much more contagious than the delta variant, or other variants. We knew it was going to be widespread," he said
Those thoughts are shared with other medical experts in Arkansas.
Dr. Joel Tumlison, Physician in Outbreak Response at the Arkansas Department of Health, agrees with Dr. Barr – what we're seeing now shouldn't come as a surprise.
Dr. Tumlison said this was eventually going to happen, it was just a matter of time.
"It shouldn't be surprising. When we just have this many total cases in the state, well there's no reason to think that kids can't catch it too. We know they can," he said. "They do catch it just about the same rate as adults, depending on their exposure risks."
So, with kids heading back to school this week, both doctors are offering up some advice.
It's what medical experts have been encouraging all along – wear a mask, social distance, and stay safe.
"Kids need to be back in school for a whole host of reasons, but we can do it safely," Dr. Barr said. "Wearing a mask is one of the most important things."