Is it true that coronavirus does not pose a danger to children?

From the very appearance of a new coronavirus infection in the human population, it was believed that the most vulnerable group of the population was elderly, and children tolerate the disease easily or completely asymptomatic. We decided to check if it is today.

At the very beginning of the epidemic, the media wrote: “There are very few children among the sick. We can say, so far these are isolated cases ”(February 2020, BBC), “Covid-19 is extremely rarely infecting children” (March 2020, "News"), “About 80% of children are easier than adults tolerate a new coronavirus infection” (May 2020, TASS), “Children without any accompanying diseases tolerate coronavirus easily: a small runny nose, low temperature, a rash on the skin is possible” (June 2020, RT). The idea that coronavirus is almost not terrible for children was firmly rooted in consciousness also because against the background News O re -profiling adults hospitals under Reception there were very few patients with a new coronavirus infection Similar Translation information children's Crap fund for infectious needs.

It is worth noting immediately that the publications above described the situation on infection of children with the original, so -called Utan variant of the virus. British version, aka Alpha, was discovered In September 2020, and widespread began to acquire in late autumn-early winter of 2020. He caused a greater concern of pediatricians. “A strainavirus strain, which came from China during the first wave of pandemia, was not as dangerous for children and adolescents as the now spreading British strain,” - in February 2021 reported Elena Prokopova, chief pediatrician of Slovakia. With this opinion, they are consistent and Conclusions scientists. The group of Israeli researchers calculated that with the advent of Alfa, the number of cases of coronavirus detection in children from 0 to 9 years old doubled (21,615 cases in August-October 2020 against 50,811 in December-February 2021). A similar picture shows and statistics In terms of incidence in the USA. Since the beginning of 2021, children's incidence began to grow and began to compete with the level of the oldest groups of the population.

In January, in this way there was a rise associated with Alfa, and in April-a flash due to "Delta". The September rise is still impossible to explain the dominance of some option. However, it can be assumed that the vaccinated population, including people of mature and elderly, has become more stable for new, more aggressive options.

As can be seen from the given data, in September 2021, sick children (group 0–17) were more than two times more than mature and elderly people (50+). However, c observations Israeli scientists the number of hospitalizations with the advent of Alfa decreased: 261 (0.98%) in the first period against 379 (0.52%) in the second. Similar painting It is also observed in the USA - the increase in incidence did not lead to an increase in mortality in the children's age group. Mortality throughout the epidemic continues to remain at a relatively low level, reaching in some periods only one case for 666,000 people.

However, low mortality does not tell us that you can relax in relation to children, since the transmitted disease itself can lead to serious consequences. It was not possible to detect comparable statistics on Russia in open sources, while the media from the end of summer began to appear news about children's mortality. So, according to the data "Kommersant"," In the Tula region, due to the Covid-19, a two-month-old child died, a two-year-old girl died in the Volgograd region, in Yakutia, for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic revealed two cases of a severe coronavirus course in children. " The chief physician of the Dawn Children's Clinic Sergei Botri shares his observations: “The Indian strain of Delta is twice as often leads to hospitals and complications in children than Wansky.” Chief physician of the city clinical hospital No. 52 Maryana Lysenko Agree: “Now children are sick, and get sick enough, and have a large number of various consequences of infection.”

One of the most formidable consequences of the disease is multisystem inflammatory syndrome, Lazing Heart, light, blood vessels, kidneys, digestive system, brain, skin and eyes. Everyone faced him in the USA hundredth* Minor sick - all 5217 patients (average age - 9 years), 46 of them died.

Less dangerous, but more common post -okovid (aka post -shoe syndrome): them, by observations British doctors, every seventh child aged 11 to 17 years old for at least three months after recovery suffers. The doctors called headache and fatigue the most common manifestations of post -shock. Italian data researchers Even more serious. More than half of children aged 6 to 16 years old, who had undergone infection, had at least one symptom of post-shock, which lasted longer than 120 days from the date of recovery, while 42.6% reported that their everyday activity was disturbed due to these symptoms.

Thus, children's incidence in recent months has quantitatively overtook statistics in group 50+, while mortality continues to be at a low level. However, this is not a reason to relax - after the infection, many children have residual symptoms that significantly worsen their quality of life.

*Data on the multisystem inflammatory syndrome covers the period from the beginning of the pandemic to October 4, and data on the number of cases until 18 years old - to October 21, and therefore an insignificant statistical error is possible.

Most of the untruth

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. Is it true that it is forbidden to vaccinate during an epidemic?
2. Is it true that it is safe to vaccinate with existing antibodies after a disease?