Is COVID-19 really sparing children?

Author(s):

Jia Kangbai and Jia Kangbai*

Since it started in late December 2019, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is now widespread with over 1,300,000 cases and more than 7,000 deaths globally. Preliminary data tend to suggest that the burden of COVID-19 on children is relatively low. In one Chinese study only 1% of the 44,672 COVID-19 cases were below 10 years while another study reported that children just like adult get infected. Also, a recent analysis has suggested that community transmission of COVID-19 may be link to pediatric COVID-19 cases. Pediatric COVID-19 infection rates tend to differ by underlying infections. In one viral surveillance pediatric study in China, there were more COVID-19 cases among children with ARDS than those with human metapneumovirus while 10% of the pediatric hospitalized children with respiratory tract infections in Norway were diagnosed with COVID-19.