New mom: With COVID-19 cases on the rise, where can I take my baby?

After spending most of my pregnancy social distancing and staying home, I was thrilled my baby was born in late April. By then, my family and friends were fully vaccinated, along with many strangers, and I felt comfortable getting out again.

Then, suddenly, things got bad again. Coronavirus cases spiked higher than they had in months and mask mandates were reinstated for vaccinated people. Even worse, last week, we reported that children made up 30% of North Carolina's COVID-19 cases. In some instances, they had to be hospitalized.

I was all ready to start taking my daughter more places, but then I wondered -- should I? I don't want to live in fear, but I'd do anything to keep her safe.

I asked Dr. Peyton Thompson, a pediatric infectious diseases physician and researcher with UNC Health, my most pressing questions. I hope they help other parents of young children.

Q: Do families need to worry about play dates/day care settings where their children interact with other unvaccinated children?

A: As we know, children under 12 are not yet eligible for vaccination. And yet they cannot go without socialization and play dates with other children!

Parents can mitigate risks by taking appropriate measures, ensuring adults around their children are vaccinated, ensuring mask wearing (for adults and for children old enough to keep a mask on), and choosing outdoor play dates rather than indoor ones.

Q: Is it dangerous to have your child around unvaccinated adults?

A: As above, it is always preferable for adults around unvaccinated children to be vaccinated themselves to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission to young children.

Q: What can parents of babies and toddlers do to keep them protected?

A: Parents can do the following to protect their young children: get vaccinated, encourage others around their children who are eligible to be vaccinated, wear masks in public places and maintain physical distancing. Pregnant and breastfeeding women can get vaccinated to pass along antibodies to their infants.

We know these measures work to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is tiring and frustrating to continue the same precautions but necessary to protect our most vulnerable family and community members.

Q: Are infants under 1 more likely to be hospitalized/severely ill than children/toddlers?

A: Not to my knowledge. However, admission data at UNC Health is broken down by general age groups of 0-11 and 12-17, so I can’t comment on admission rates in infants vs. young children. Likewise, the American Association of Pediatrics reports aggregate data but not broken down by age group.

To quote the AAP, “Among states reporting [24 states + NYC], children ranged from 1.6%-4.1% of their total cumulated hospitalizations, and 0.1%-1.9% of all their child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization." The numbers are overall small, and numbers may vary from state to state and hospital system to hospital system. Generally, children with underlying health conditions are the ones who are more apt to become severely ill when they get acute COVID-19.

Jessica is a first-time mom and a journalist for WRAL.com. She's thrilled to share her experiences as a new Go Ask Mom writer.