Pediatric COVID-19 cases have surged in the U.S., as a record 951 children were reportedly admitted to hospitals Wednesday as the Omicron variant continues to rapidly spread.

The new figure is more than double the previous record of 400 children. More than 3,100 children have been hospitalized in the last seven-day period.

The Omicron variant makes up 95% of new COVID infections. It is three times more infectious than the Delta variant.

“The sheer volume of infections because of its profound transmissibility means that many more children will get infected,” Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Hill.

The Department of Health and Human Services reported one in five hospitals' intensive care units are 95% full, with more than a quarter of ICU beds being occupied by COVID-19 patients.

Texas Children’s Hospital, the nation's largest pediatric hospital, has quadrupled the number of COVID-related hospitalizations in the past two weeks. Pathologist-in-chief Dr. Jim Versalovic has called the recent numbers from the Omicron surge “staggering” in a CNN interview.

"It seems like people have tried to downplay the significance of the disease in children," Dr. Mark Kline, the physician-in-chief at Children's Hospital New Orleans, told NBC News. "We've spent two years rebutting myths pertaining to COVID and children, that it's 'harmless' for children. It's not."

Dr. Amy Edwards, a Cleveland pediatric infectious disease expert at University Hospitals Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, noted that there has been a significant uptick in admissions and an increase in children needing IV fluids, oxygen and ventilation.

Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, told CNN that in order to keep children in school, all teachers, bus drivers and children over 5 years old must be vaccinated and they must wear masks and social distance.

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