Key Points

• In week 2023-S01, incidence rates among 0- to 17-year-olds had been declining for six consecutive weeks and were below 50 per 100,000 in all school-age groups. Positivity rates were below 10%.

• As of January 9, 2023, 81.1% of 12- to 17-year-olds had received a full primary vaccination series and 18.3% had received a booster dose. This vaccination coverage has changed very little (80.3% and 15.3%, respectively, at the end of March 2022) and remains low among 5- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 11-year-olds (2.8% and 8.4%, respectively, with a complete primary vaccination series).

• The number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 has been declining since week 2022-S51. In this context, the proportion of children under one year of age remains the highest: in week 2023-S01, they accounted for 79% of all hospitalizations among 0- to 17-year-olds and 81% of admissions to critical care units.

• Data from the PICURe network do not show any change in the severity of cases hospitalized in critical care units. The proportion of children with comorbidities among those admitted for COVID-19 has been higher since the Omicron variant began circulating than it was during the Delta variant period.

• As of January 8, 2023, and since the start of the epidemic, 1,092 cases of PIMS (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome secondary to COVID-19) have been reported. Since the last week of July 2022, the number of reported cases has been 0 to 2 per week. It was more than 25 per week during the main peaks.