Seven Mississippi children are currently in the hospital due to coronavirus infections, with two of the young people on life support, a top health official said on Twitter Tuesday.
State Health Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs also tweeted Monday that “pretty much all cases in Mississippi are delta variant right now” and that the “vast majority of cases/hospitalizations/deaths” are of unvaccinated people.
“7% of deaths in vaccinated worrisome — we are allowing too much circulating delta to reach our most vulnerable,” he added.
At University of Mississippi Medical Center, pediatric admissions for coronavirus-related reasons have increased in the past three weeks, said Dr. Alan Jones, UMMC’s associate vice chancellor for clinical affairs. There are currently four pediatric patients undergoing treatment at UMMC, he said, with two of the young patients in an intensive care unit.
“It does feel a little bit surreal that we’re faced with some rising numbers,” Jones said at UMMC in Jackson on Tuesday. “We certainly remain concerned with the low vaccination rate, we’ll continue to see increases (in cases).”
At least 57% of cases sequenced in the U.S. are of the delta variant, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday. And the World Health Organization said Tuesday that the variant has been detected in 111 countries and will become the dominant variant globally in the coming months.
“The emergence of more transmissible variants, coupled with the relaxation and…
