Doctors say Louisville’s COVID cases are decreasing

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Finally, health officials, state labs and health care providers can catch their breath during the pandemic. After January’s surge, numbers and cases are dropping. Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s latest COVID update showed where Louisville stands and the refocus on children.

During the first week of February there were 7,106 cases. That includes labs catching up on January tests. During his update, Fischer said experts shared this week they don’t expect an increase in cases.

However, also decreasing are vaccinations. Nearly 75 percent of people living in Louisville has at least one dose with 44 percent with secured through their booster.

Dr. Kristina Bryant, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, said with the current turn and slow down she thinks a new message needs to be pushed for children ... COVID vaccines should be part of a routine.

“While many kids have mild or asymptomatic disease it’s still a disease you don’t want your children to get,” Bryant said.

Bryant added historically through the pandemic one or two kids out of 100 with COVID will get admitted to the hospital the same rate goes got catching multi- inflammatory disease.

Misty Ellis, who also works with children in the intensive care unit, said unvaccinated children make up almost exclusively children in the hospital who need ventilation. She added that many of those children had underlying conditions, including obesity.

The long-term effect on children is rare, but includes inflammatory attacks on the whole body and organ system, including mental health.

“A lot of parents when they’re in the intensive care unit say ‘you know I knew my neighbor down the street had it. But I didn’t think my kid would be this sick,’” Ellis said. “I didn’t think my child would be in the intensive care.”

Overall, vaccinated children do better on all fronts with COVID than those who are unvaccinated. The doctors said more than 16 million children ages 12 to 17 and more than 8 million ages 5 to 11 have had the vaccine.

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