Key Points

• Among the 0–17 age group, SARS-CoV-2 circulation intensified starting in late October 2021, as it did in the rest of the population, before declining starting in mid-January 2022 (S03). A resurgence of the epidemic, beginning among 5- to 11-year-olds in week 2022-S09 and then spreading to other age groups, was subsequently observed.

• Vaccination coverage is high among 12- to 17-year-olds (82.4% had received their full primary vaccination series and 15.9% a booster, as of April 11) and remains low among 5- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds (2.5% and 7.6%, respectively, with a full primary vaccination series, as of April 11).

• After declining from late January through early March, new hospitalizations among 0- to 17-year-olds—whether COVID-19-related or for other reasons—continued to decrease through late March and then stabilized.

• Since the start of the fifth wave (week 2021-41), the proportion of pediatric cases among all hospitalized cases has been 6.8%.

• Data from the PICURe network and the PANDOR study do not show any change in the severity of hospitalized cases.

• As of April 10, 2022, and since the start of the epidemic, 73% of the 1,012 cases of PIMS (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome secondary to COVID-19), primarily affecting children aged 3 to 11, were hospitalized in intensive care or in a continuous care unit. 26% of the cases observed occurred during the fifth wave, which began for PIMS in calendar week 2021-S46.

• After five weeks of decline, the proportion of Level 3 critical care beds occupied by newborns born with SARS-CoV-2 infection increased very slightly (from 9.3% to 9.6%) between March 14 and 21, 2022.

• The majority of mothers of newborns hospitalized in critical care due to SARS-CoV-2 infection were unvaccinated or had an incomplete vaccination schedule.