U.S. pediatric hospitals short on beds as respiratory illnesses surge among children: CNN

NEW YORK, Nov. 14 (Xinhua) -- Data showed that over three-quarters of pediatric hospital beds and 80 percent of intensive care beds for kids are full in the United States, and that's up from an average of about two-thirds full over the past two years, reported CNN on Sunday.

"Space for children in hospitals is at a premium across the country," said the report, which told the story of an infant who needed heart surgery but waited a long time in agony before she had a bed.

Hospitals are seeing higher numbers of sick infants and children due to a particularly early and severe season for respiratory infections in children, including respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and influenza, the report explained.