Doctors say pediatric hospitalizations are on the rise as the highly contagious Omicron variant continues to spread.

Dr. Sharon Nachman, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Stony Brook University Hospital, says the trend follows what has been seen in other age groups.

"Compared to a month ago, our hospitalizations have skyrocketed," Nachman says. "Similar to what we are seeing in adults were there are many new cases in the emergency room and being admitted to the hospital, we are seeing the same thing in children."

Nachman says the rise in cases have been happening for two reasons, one because safety measures are being relaxed, including mask wearing, and because the variant is easy to catch.

Although many kids of all ages are coming to the ER with COVID-19, Nachman says many have mild forms of the disease, but some are showing severe symptoms.

Nachman says most of the children admitted are not vaccinated and their parents are unvaccinated as well.

Nachman urges family’s to get their shot together to help protect those who are still too young to receive it.