Omicron is affecting children in South Africa

[Fairylights25]

I am not sure how the SA doctor can be so relaxed about Omicron variant when we see the stats for children in hospital just coming out:

www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-11-29/young-kids-make-up-10-of-hospital-cases-in-omicron-epicenter

Not wishing to worry anyone, but why don't we know about this? No sign of this headline anywhere that I can see this morning? Or maybe there has been a thread already I have missed. I accept the doctors will be very careful with small children, but the admission rate does seem high to me,

I should add healthy 'young' male patients.

Honestly, one doctors patients vs hospitalisation data. The latter seems likely to be more robust, but neither are hugely informative yet.

^There's a difference between panicking and assimilating all the available data (including establishing the robustness of that data) so you can make an informed risk assessment."

As far as I can see OP was trying to do the latter.

Nope.

I live in South Africa, albeit nowhere near Pretoria and I haven’t heard about this…I know more children got sick with the delta variant but I didn’t hear about any child being seriously ill.

My children are all at school (all wear masks from Reception upwards and have done since March 2020) at the moment and have been playing sport, going to parties etc..etc…no panic at all..

@Fairylights25 I agree with you wholeheartedly that cancel culture is disgraceful and I too have had enough of it. I'm not cancelling you though, I'm just trying to have a discussion which is why I think you started this thread in the first place, it's just maybe not gone in the expected direction.
No, you're right we shouldn't tip toe around people's anxieties. Its not our responsibility to control that.

What I was confused about is that you've mentioned so many times that we really don't know and have to wait. You've plucked an article out and are asking for the general opinion. Surely you cannot expect any informed discussions to be had, where there is no information. Those articles will carry on being written for as long as they will get clicks because clicks pay. It is incredibly poor and irresponsible journalism and it's been a plague since the beginning of COVID.
You may say you're making a sensible decision by not travelling but how have you come to that conclusion? You have read an article? Are you not travelling off the back of that? If that's the case than you are panicking because that article holds no substantial data that could be turned into a sensible decision. No such data exists on this strain so even if it wasn't the article, I'm not sure what your sensible decision is based on.
That's my biggest beef with threads like this. Yea it's a discussion you can have with your family or whatever but it's nuts to get into this debate on a public forum where opinions are rife and divisive, especially where there's no right or wrong, because there is no data.

I accept what you say about lack of data meadow but I had a decision to make, and honestly articles like that are not exactly inspiring confidence. I didn't really know what direction the thread would take, it was just information. Since this virus broke back in December 2019 that is the one headline I have always dreaded seeing, hopefully it will come to nothing. The part of Sweden we are travelling to is very remote, we have animals here at home, so getting stranded in the wilderness if anyone gets ill/has to isolate or they do a lightening border closure is not an option. Nor is spending Christmas somewhere with no presents for the kids. It just felt like too many uncertainties and this one thing made me realise I really don't want to put my kids at any further risk (and I don't want to find out when we are there that is the case, I hope it isn't obviously) We have to wait until the 19th of December for the next update now, so nothing to base any decision on sadly.

I've seen this on other site, but have no clue what to think of it. Yes, it's a bit worrying, but what can you tell from these data? Situation in UK and SA is very different, most of people are vaccinated here, and about 24% in SA, so how the virus spread and affect children may be very different, if most of parents of young children are vaccinated and won't pass it on to their children in the first place.

sacoronavirus.co.za/2021/11/29/datcov-hospital-surveillance-for-covid-19-tshwane-metro-resurgence-week-46-ending-27-november-2021/

@Fairylights25

classic We can't avoid information because we panic, we need to assess the information, look at our risks and set up and think about wha we need to change (if anything) and wait for more data. The children seem to be getting better, so there is no need to panic.

I didn’t tell you to avoid information? I said to wait for more information And I said there’s no need to panic…so you’re agreeing with what I said, but your OP suggests the opposite?!

@Lucyinthesky07 Praying your DC recovers soon xx

Amen

Can I just be direct classic I haven't/didn't have time to simply wait for more information, the issue is that we were flying overseas and I did not want to put my children at risk IF the new variant turns out to be more risky. Not all of us have the luxury of time to wait.
The children haven't seen their family for nearly two years, so I had hoped we could go. As it is, it looks like Europe or some parts are going to be red listed....

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/11/30/european-countries-could-added-uk-travel-red-list-warns-health/

No doubt someone will be a long in a minute to tell me it isn't true, and we need to wait until the EU is actually on the red list before being concerned. Not very helpful if you are left with a 15,000 quarantine hotel bill and held there over Christmas with your children!! Some of us have very real worries about what this actually means to our lives, plans etc.

OP, all this worry about if you get stranded somewhere, or kids may not get the present is very meh for me. People are dying.

No one can tell you what is true because no one knows. You can plan your life only if you are healthy and alive.