To get a sense of what's behind the rising proportion of cases in children, we spoke to Dr. Sean O'Leary, vice chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Committee on Infectious Diseases. O'Leary is also a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado Medical Campus and Children's Hospital Colorado.
There's strong evidence that all three vaccines being used in the U.S. offer good protection against the U.K. variant. At hospitals run by the University of Colorado, Dr. Michelle Barron [CU School of Medicine professor] says the median age of COVID patients has dropped by more than a decade. It's now people in their late 40s. “A lot of them are requiring ICU care, whereas before, a lot of them were more so just on the floor and still requiring hospitalization but not quite as sick.”
Vitamin D may help boost the innate immune system in a number of ways, explained Dr. Adit Ginde, a professor of emergency medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and one of the study's authors. One mechanism, he says, is by increasing antimicrobial peptides, which function as natural antibiotic and antiviral guards against pathogens. Though some researchers are not yet convinced of the evidence for vitamin D and respiratory illness, others, like Ginde, are. "Based on those mechanisms, prevention [of COVID-19] would be the first scenario that you would expect to work," says Ginde. "It's also very clear deficiency causes dysfunction in the immune system."
"If [the child is] looking particularly ill, you should definitely call the doctor," says Dr. Sean O'Leary, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Children's Hospital Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and member of the infectious disease committee for the American Academy of Pediatrics.
I need to go to the grocery store. How do I do that in a way that's safest for me and others? This counts as an essential trip, of course. But try going to the grocery store during off-peak hours, when it's less likely to be crowded, says Dr. Sean O' Leary, an assistant professor of pediatrics and infectious diseases at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
"If the places that you rely on to send your critically ill patients are full, then you're stuck," says Dr. Mark Deutchman, associate dean for rural health at the University of Colorado's medical school. Deutchman says people living in more isolated rural areas may be less at risk for contracting the virus because of the sheer lack of people or large gatherings, yet the lack of resources is a perennial challenge during any public health crisis.
In early November, an advisory panel to the FDA voted unanimously to approve expanded use of the prescription drug, Vascepa, which is made from one type of omega-3 fatty acid, called eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA for short. “Pharmaceutical drugs are regulated by the FDA, so the manufacturing has to meet high standards, so you can be sure that when you take it you are getting the amount listed on the label, and it is safe and free of impurities,” says Cecilia Low Wang, another member of the FDA advisory panel and a professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
The Mountain West has some of the highest rates of depression and suicide. Researchers think the mountains, with a lack of oxygen at high altitude, could be interfering with people's mental health.Emmy Betz is an emergency physician and researcher at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. She also just wrapped up a stint on the Colorado Suicide Prevention Commission. She says it's really important to look at other factors.
