Erie County reports first child death due to COVID-19

An Erie County child has died from COVID-19, the county's first pediatric death due to the virus.

Erie County Department of Health officials announced the death Tuesday. The child — who was an adolescent — died in late December or early January. Health officials said they are not releasing additional details to protect the child's identity.

“Every life lost prematurely to COVID-19 is a tragedy for our community, but it is heartbreaking that it has happened among the youth,” said Erin Mrenak, interim director of the county Health Department. “On behalf of everyone at the Erie County Department of Health, we offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones of this individual. We grieve with them.”

COVID-19 usually causes milder symptoms in children but the omicron variant is sending more children to the hospital than previous variants did.

Saint Vincent Hospital has admitted 13 children with COVID-19 so far in January, more than in previous months.

"None of them have needed ICU-level care and their lengths of stay are usually short," said Christopher Clark, D.O., Saint Vincent president.

Erie hospitals see record number of COVID-19 patients

Erie County hospitals are treating more COVID-19 patients now than at any time during the nearly two-year pandemic.

Saint Vincent admitted 106 COVID-19 patients last week, 19 more than its previous weekly record, while UPMC Hamot admitted 83, its second-highest total ever.

But there is also good news to report. A lower percentage of these patients require intensive care than during previous COVID-19 surges and fewer of them are dying.

"We have had eight COVID deaths so far in January ... compared to 33 in December," Clark said. "This is an early indication that the omicron variant is less deadly, but remember that is still a serious illness."

Saint Vincent Hospital saw a record number of COVID-19 patients last week, said Saint Vincent President Christopher Clark, D.O.
Saint Vincent Hospital saw a record number of COVID-19 patients last week, said Saint Vincent President Christopher Clark, D.O.

Overall, the county's 14-day moving average of daily COVID-19 hospitalizations rose to 126.1 on Wednesday, higher than the previous record of 122.6 set on Dec. 16, 2020.

However, hospital officials said a growing number of their COVID-19 patients are people who were admitted for non-COVID reasons and have tested positive for the virus since they entered the hospital.

"I don't have exact numbers but many of our vaccinated patients with COVID aren't here because of COVID," Clark said. "They came for gall bladder surgery or something else, and then tested positive."

Clark attributed those cases to the high level of community spread in the county since omicron arrived.

COVID-19 test positivity rates, which were around 20% a month ago, have climbed to record levels since the holidays.

"At Hamot's testing sites, we had a 52% positivity rate two weeks ago and a 44% rate last week," said Emily Shears, vice president of quality for UPMC in northwestern Pennsylvania and New York. "They are, by far, the highest rates we have seen."

Saint Vincent reported a record-high 41% positivity rate last week at its testing sites, while the Erie County Department of Health estimated the positivity rate at its testing sites was between 30% and 40%.

These high positivity rates confirm how contagious the omicron variant is, but it doesn't mean the number of new cases will continue to increase, Clark said.

"There is no indication that cases are starting to decline but we are hopeful," Clark said. "In other areas, like South Africa, they saw a steep but short increase followed by a sharp drop in cases. We may be in the midst of the worst of this."

More: Erie, Meadville hospitals plan to follow federal COVID-19 vaccine mandate

It's likely, however, that the number of new COVID-19 cases will increase for at least another week or two, Mrenak said.

Mrenak based her assumption on the latest data of COVID-19 virus levels in Erie's wastewater. Samples are taken every week to check for virus particles, a method used across the country to monitor COVID-19.

"There was a jump in the levels last week, so we probably have a couple of weeks before we see cases numbers start to decline," Mrenak said.

COVID-19 tests available online

People can now apply for free at-home COVID-19 test kits from the federal government.

More: COVID-19 testing brings crowd to Erie's Bayfront Convention Center

To apply for the test kits, visit covidtests.gov. Every household in the United States is eligible for four test kits. Orders will usually ship in seven to 12 days.

The county Health Department's next free COVID-19 testing clinic is Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Bayfront Convention Center, 1 Sassafras Pier.

Contact David Bruce at dbruce@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNBruce.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie County child dies from COVID-19, first pediatric death in county