LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The cases of children testing positive for COVID continue to rise in Las Vegas. Valley pediatricians say they are seeing a rise in hospitalizations and phone calls from families about their children getting sick.
Dr. Carrie Wijesinghe with Siena Pediatrics a local pediatrician says about two months ago she was receiving about five to 10 calls a day from parents about their children testing positive for COVID, currently, she is receiving 30 to 40 calls a day.
Pediatricians are seeing the start of another wave of COVID-19, but they say it's hitting our children harder this time around.
“We have started to see an uptick in the last couple of weeks with the amount of covid cases that we have seen in the office and reportedly in our hospitals as well,” Dr. Carrie said.
She says during this surge monitoring your child’s health is critical.
“We always stress that kids below three months of age if they have a fever of 100.4 degrees or greater go to the ER, older children with cold-like symptoms with no fever you can just stay home,” said Dr. Carrie.
Dr. Atous Ghaneian a Las Vegas pediatrician says she is noticing a spike at her office as well.
“Many of the children that are ending up with covid at this point in time and are hospitalized, I would say about 97 to 98% of them are from families and parents that are not vaccinated,” Dr. Ghaneian said.
She says the increase in cases may be a result of holiday gatherings. Unfortunately, she says many were not aware of other family members' status, were asymptomatic, and spread the virus to others. She says parents need to be alert after being in these large gatherings.
It is recommended to wait a bit after being exposed before getting tested.
“Unless you are asymptomatic do not test unless you are four to five days out because the test could be a false negative,” Dr. Ghaneian said. “You need to wait, quarantine yourself, don’t be around other children, don’t be around immunocompromised, don’t be around elderly, wait the four to five days, and then get tested so the test can be more accurate.”
Pediatricians say the quickest and most effective way to stay protected is getting vaccinated.
They say rapid testing or the at-home testing kits may not always be the most accurate.
If you test negative and you or your loved one are still feeling symptoms it is critical to stay in quarantine and contact your medical provider as soon as possible for another test to be taken.
The accuracy is always in question when a medical professional is not performing the test.
