Minnesota sees COVID-19 lull this fall, pneumonia in kids

Minnesota is enjoying a lull in respiratory illnesses, albeit ahead of the typical flu season and amid an uptick in “walking pneumonia” cases, particularly among children.

Wastewater testing found a decline over the past month in levels of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, after they had briefly surged to their highest levels in Minnesota since spring 2023, when the pandemic was still considered a public health emergency.

The state’s respiratory illness report on Thursday also showed a decline in COVID cases, hospitalizations and deaths since mid-September.

Doctors, however, have reported more cases of walking pneumonia. Children’s Minnesota saw its case count increase from five in June to 30 in September, and that’s an undercount because testing for walking pneumonia is irregular, said Dr. Chase Shutak, a Children’s pediatrician.

The condition gets its nickname because it involves milder symptoms, such as coughing and chest pain, so infected people are often walking around and doing usual activities. People with walking pneumonia are at risk of infecting others, though, who could suffer breathing problems or other complications.

The Minnesota Department of Health has offered guidance to schools and long-term care facilities on how to prevent infections following an alert by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency noted that walking pneumonia had diminished during the pandemic but has been on the rise since late 2023.

Doctors and researchers have debated which antibiotic to prescribe, or whether to treat walking pneumonia at all given how many children recover on their own, Shutak said. He recommends immediate treatment because this case cluster is behaving differently, infecting preschool children in addition to the usual target population of school-age children.

“The fact that we’re seeing more of these suggests to me that this is a more infectious or virulent version,” he said.

Seasonal influenza also has emerged in Minnesota, though for now at very low levels, according to Thursday’s weekly report. Six people in the state have been hospitalized with flu infections so far this season.

Public health officials urged Minnesotans to follow age-appropriate recommendations for vaccinations, including booster shots of COVID-19 vaccine, especially for senior citizens and people with weakened immune systems.

The share of COVID cases causing severe illness is far below what Minnesota encountered during the pandemic, but the infectious disease even now is more severe than typical seasonal influenza.

The state reported 272 deaths and nearly 3,600 hospitalizations related to COVID since July 1 when the most recent wave of illnesses started. Seniors remain at elevated risk, making up 90% of the COVID deaths in that timeframe.