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More data has been revealed that not only points to the delta variant (B.1.617.2) of COVID-19 hitting young people harder than the so-called wild-type variant (D614G) which had the United States on its heels this times last year, but how young these people can be.
Infection control today® reported on this development earlier this month, noting that Inci Yildirim, MD, PhD, Yale Medicine pediatric infectious disease specialist and vaccinologist, discussed how people 50 and under may be at greater risk of ‘be infected with the delta variant than with previous iterations of the coronavirus. Yildirim also noted that there was not yet an approved vaccine for children aged 5 to 12.
Now, a study from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) indicates that 127,427 children were infected with COVID-19 from August 5 to 12, which is an 18% increase in reported cases weekly for children. (The definition of “child” varies from state to state. But all 49 reporting states start at 0; the highest threshold varies. It can range from 14 to 20 years old.) Children account for 14.4% of all cases. in the pandemic up to this point.
“At this time, it appears that serious illnesses from COVID-19 are rare in children,” the AAP says in a press release on the study. “However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including the ways in which the virus may adversely affect the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its effects on the disease. emotional and mental health. “
Of the 11 states reporting tests, children accounted for between 10.9% and 20.6% of the total cumulative tests, of which between 4.7% and 17.7% of the children tested positive. Twenty-three states reported hospitalizations, and children accounted for between 1.6% and 3.5% of the cumulative total hospitalizations.
Paediatricians who have spoken to the Wall Street newspaper expressed concern about the rise in COVID-19 infection in children. The newspaper says doctors in the South and Midwest are noting they are treating more children and worried about an increase in pediatric cases.
The the Wall Street newspaper reports that “Children’s hospitals are bracing for more cases as schools reopen. They hire more nurses, rework discharge protocols, speed up room cleaning, make contingency plans to increase bed capacity, and prepare staff for an increase in Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, or MIS-C. . “
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, MIS-C “is a disease in which different parts of the body can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. intestinal ‘. The CDC admits it “doesn’t yet know what causes MIS-C.” However, many children with MIS-C had the virus that causes COVID-19, or had known someone with COVID-19. “
Linda Spaulding RN, BC, CIC, member of TIC®editorial advisory board, said TIC® in a Q&A in February that it is a mistake to underestimate the harm COVID-19 can do to young people.
“People keep saying, ‘Well, young kids. They will have it. They will get over it. It’s not a big deal.’ But this is not the reality. There are many young children who have contracted COVID and are now struggling with what they call long haul disorder. And that’s when they get heart damage or lung damage. And it seems from what we know that it will last a lifetime. Young people who think, ‘Oh, I can go do whatever I want to do. And if I get COVID, that’s fine. I will get over it. This is not the case.”
She added that “it can be fatal in children.”
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