LIVE: Rise in Austin pediatric COVID-19 cases discussed at APH briefing
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Austin health leaders think the peak of the omicron variant COVID-19 surge is over, but pediatric cases are still on the rise.
During a 10 a.m. media Q&A Friday, Austin Public Health will partner with Dell Children's Medical Center to discuss the increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases.
Dr. Sarmistha Hauger, a pediatric infectious disease specialist for Dell Children's, will join the usual panel of speakers to provide insight into "the challenges COVID-19 infections present to pediatric patients hospitalized for other causes and the importance of children getting vaccinated."
Dr. Desmar Walkes, the Austin-Travis County health authority, will lead the discussion. APH Director Adrienne Sturrup, APH Chief Epidemiologist Janet Pichette and APH Chief Administrative Officer for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Cassandra DeLeon are all scheduled to answer questions.
According to Austin-Travis County COVID-19 dashboard data updated Jan. 27, the 7-day average of hospitalizations continues to decline and is now at 103, down from a peak of 128 on Jan. 20. The community transmission rate is still in the high category at 1,159 infections per 100,000 people, and the positivity rate is 29.8%.
A subvariant of omicron, dubbed BA.2, has been detected in Texas, but health leaders say if a person contracts omicron, the leftover antibodies should be enough to fight the subvariant. The subvariant was first detected in Houston, health leaders said.
APH and Travis County are partnering to hold free COVID-19 vaccination clinics Jan. 28-31 all over the county.
KXAN will live stream the briefing in this story, the KXAN News app and on KXAN's Facebook page.