Child Covid-19 hospitalizations reach a new high as schools reopen. That's not the only reason to protect kids from Delta, doctors say

Just as doctors feared, more children are getting hit hard by Covid-19 as the Delta variant tramples across the country.

And the school year just started.

"What we're seeing now is extremely concerning," said Dr. Edith Bracho-Sanchez, associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

"This virus is really going for the people who are not vaccinated. And among those people are children who don't qualify for the vaccine and children and teens who qualify but are choosing not to get it."

Among the latest sobering statistics:

-- A record-high 2,396 children were hospitalized with Covid-19 as of Tuesday, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services.