FILE PHOTO: Jennifer Panditaratne manages her two youngest children with homeschooling as her husband helps their eldest daughter in Broward County, Florida, U.S. May 29, 2020. REUTERS/Maria Alejandra Cardona
“Contrary to what we believed, based on the epidemiological data, kids are not spared from this pandemic,” said Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital and author of a new study. The study, published on Thursday in the Journal of Pediatrics, involved 192 participants ages 0-22 who were seen at urgent care clinics for suspected COVID-19. Forty-nine of them - a quarter of the total - tested positive for the virus. Another 18 were included in the study after being diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a serious COVID-related illness than can develop several weeks after an infection.
However, other medical groups show differing information over children’s potential to spread the virus. The American Academy of Pediatrics on Wednesday updated its guidelines to reflect “that children under 10 years may be less likely to become infected and spread infection, while those 10 years and older may spread it as efficiently as adults.”
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization rate of 8 per 100,000 for March 1 to July 25, compared with a rate of 164.5 per 100,000 for adults.
In a certain way, but the age group 18 to 45 a more concerning group. Keeping your distance, cleaning oneself are very important lessons so this Virus burns out hopefully by 3rd quarter next year.