What Are the COVID Risks for Kids Under 5?

Hi Emily, sorry, another COVID question! Is there a breakdown of data for the under-5 kids on COVID hospitalizations by age/months? I’m wondering what my son’s risk is at three months vs. six months so I can calculate how comfortable I will be planning activities at various ages (taking him inside places today, flying to meet his grandparents at five months, vacation this summer at eight months, etc.). I’ve only seen a split between under-2 and 2-to-5-year-olds, and I’d like to resume some normalcy before he’s 2 years old but don’t have a sense of how much safer he’ll be if I wait until he’s six months old or later.
—New mom

I am answering this even though the answer is short: no. In principle such data exists (i.e. hospital records and so on) and I’m sure we’ll eventually have it, but there’s nothing to look at now. The best we can do on guidance is probably to rely on data from other illnesses. Infants under about two months tend to be at higher risk and prompt more intervention (as I’ve written about before). As kids age through the first year, their risks tend to go down. This is imprecise, but it’s where we are.