Coronavirus infection: children are at same risk as adults, new study finds

The new study, published in the journal JAMA Pediatrics, found that adults and children living in Utah and New York City shared similar risks of being infected with the coronavirus. But the children only had symptoms about half the time.

“The study shows that from the start, children of all ages, including infants and toddlers, have a similar risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to adults”, Dr. Flor Munoz, specialist of pediatric infectious diseases at Texas Children’s Hospital and associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, wrote in an accompanying editorial. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

The new research, conducted from September 2020 to April 2021, included data on 1,236 people from 310 different households with one or more children in New York City and some counties in Utah.

Dr Fatimah Dawood of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and colleagues took a close look at the incidence of Covid-19 and found that among households with one or more people infected, the average risk of infection with within these households was 52%, adding to the evidence that households remain a common place where the virus spreads.

When they analyzed the incidence of Covid-19 by age group, the rates per 1,000 person-weeks appeared to be similar across the board: 6.3 for children up to 4 years of age; 4.4 for children aged 5 to 11; 6.0 for children from 12 to 17; and 5.1 for adults.

In general, “our results suggest that children and adults have similar incidence rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection, underscoring the need for a rapid assessment of the efficacy and safety of the drug. vaccine in children to extend vaccine indications to younger age groups, ”they wrote.

When the researchers analyzed how many people in each age group had no symptoms, they found asymptomatic infection in 52% of children under 4; 50% of 5 to 11 year olds; 45% of 12 to 17 year olds; but in only 12% of adults.

“Adults and children of all ages had similar risks of SARS-CoV-2 infection, but about half of SARS-CoV-2 infections in children were asymptomatic compared to a much smaller fraction in adults, ”the researchers wrote.

The researchers noted that some symptoms in young children may have been missed since symptom data was collected from adults caring for children – not the children themselves.

Overall, the role children play in transmitting respiratory infections needs to be considered in pandemic efforts as well as the need for a Covid-19 vaccine for children, Munoz wrote in his editorial.

“If lessons are to be learned from our collective experience and if we are to accept the role of children in the transmission of respiratory viral infections, then pediatric populations, from infants to adolescents, must be included in pandemic preparedness, the disease burden assessment, vaccine and therapeutic research, and epidemic and pandemic control strategies and policies from day one without delay, ”she wrote.