Jessie-Lynn MacDonald was surprised to hear a doctor suggesting a COVID-19 test when a 10-year-old woman developed an abnormal rash behind her ear last September.
She didn’t know exactly how Finley picked up the virus, but a positive result confirmed that the rash was associated with COVID.
According to McDonald’s, the skin condition soon subsided, but the boy later developed headaches, stomach problems, tinnitus, and was still regularly annoyed.
“It’s really emotionally difficult because he doesn’t know when he suddenly feels it,” McDonald said. “The time it takes for him to be attacked has definitely improved, but he is still under attack.”
McDonald’s sought an expert response in February.
She said doctors said Finley’s symptoms were likely to result from his COVID-19 infection, but there wasn’t much he could do for him.
“For the sake of fairness, no one seems to understand this well,” she said.
McDonald’s describes his son’s condition as a “long COVID.” This is a rare phenomenon in which symptoms such as malaise, brain fog, and headache appear weeks or months after COVID-19 infection. Long COVID is more prominently explained in adults, but some children seem to experience it as well.
When school is reopened soon, McDonald’s and other Canadian parents are worried about a surge in infections among their children. And while most kids don’t experience protracted effects, McDonald’s is concerned about some possibilities.
According to experts, a long-standing direct link between COVID and the SARS-CoV-2 virus has not been established, and research is underway aimed at further understanding the effects of COVID on Canadian children.
Dr. Stephen Friedman, Principal Investigator of the Study on COVID-19 Results in Children at the Canadian Institute of Health, states that the majority of children who test positive experience only mild illness.
One of the rare complications is pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or delayed response to a virus called MIS-C, which affects about 1 in 3,500 children infected with COVID-19. It states.
Friedman, a pediatric emergency physician at Alberta Children’s Hospital and a clinician scientist at the University of Calgary, said MIS-C differs from long COVIDs, which are difficult to define and diagnose.
According to Friedman, the problem is that it’s usually not clear whether a viral infection is causing long-term symptoms or something else.
“It’s much more difficult if you have a headache, (feeling) dizziness, or fatigue,” said Friedman, who has nothing to do with the McDonald’s case.
“It doesn’t mean it’s not-these symptoms are clearly present-but we need research to take the time to study and understand these children: they are it after COVID infection. You are likely to have the same symptoms, but did you have a COVID? “
“The verdict has not yet been decided,” Friedman said, as to whether the prolongation of COVID-19 is a major concern for children in the future.
But he said it would be beneficial to know more.
“Understanding long COVID is one of the most important things we can do to quantify. Is it the real existence of children? How common is it? How strict is it? How long will it last? – To enable you to make informed policy decisions. ”
According to Friedman, children were a neglected group when it came to studying COVID-19. One of the reasons is that adults have always been prominently attacked by the virus.
However, as the school opens next month and more children come into contact with other children, Friedman said the infection is likely to sneak up in the age group under 12 who are not yet vaccinated. And there is a risk that they may spread the virus to vulnerable groups.
Dr. Earl Rubin, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at the Montreal Children’s Hospital, said the more contagious delta mutants are likely to make things worse.
Cases and hospitalizations of children infected with COVID are increasing, primarily in unvaccinated areas of the United States, but Rubin remains uncertain whether Delta will cause more serious illness in children. Said. But the fact that it is more contagious is a concern.
“If someone gets infected in a classroom setting, they can have a higher incidence in that classroom than we saw in the alpha (variant) or original strain,” he said. “You have two functions against them: it is more contagious and they are not vaccinated.”
Friedman said in recently deregulated jurisdictions, it may be necessary to consider reintroducing mask obligations when children return to school.
According to Rubin, ensuring adequate ventilation and keeping students physically separated can also help limit their spread in the classroom.
McDonald’s said she and her son both expressed concern about returning to school while Finley was looking forward to returning to direct learning.
“He is terribly afraid to get (COVID-19) again,” McDonald said. “That was a big problem.”
