CDC doesn't yet see signal Omicron variant more severe in young kids

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has not yet seen a signal that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is more severe in young children despite an increase of hospitalizations, the agency's director Dr Rochelle Walensky said at a press conference on Friday.

"We have not yet seen a signal that there is an increased severity" in kids under 5, who are not yet eligible for vaccination, Walensky said. She said that an increase in cases, in general, could be one explanation for the surge in hospitalizations.