He said the current situation was “of great concern”, noting the increase from 7,730 cases among children in 2020 to 379,245 in 2021.

“The total number of pediatric patients below 12 years of age infected with Covid-19 was 119,719 from January to mid-March 2022,” he said in a statement.

Overall hospital bed usage among children has also seen a dramatic rise this year, with occupancy and the number of children in more serious condition both increasing sharply since the beginning of February.

The number of children in critical care wards also saw a steep increase. While there had been 16 admissions as of February, that number has since risen to 31, with the majority of new cases classified as Category 4 or 5.

Covid-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 years started on Feb 3, and 26.8% of eligible children had received their first dose as at March 3.

Khairy said that despite the ministry’s numerous initiatives to increase the number of vaccinated children, “parental acceptance has been found to be slow”, with many still taking a “wait and see” approach.

On Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) and long Covid-19, Khairy said MIS-C, which described the inflammation of internal organs, was identified in 174 children between June 2020 and December 2021 and accounted for seven child deaths.

While there was limited data that suggested that long Covid-19 – the lasting effects of the virus post-recovery – may pose less of a risk to those under 12, little was known about the long-term effects of the disease on children, he said.

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