SCD children with Omicron infection at risk for severe symptoms More than 80% of children with SCD with COVID-19 variants are admitted to ICU

children of Smelly cell disease (SCD) are at increased risk of developing severe symptoms after being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, one of the latest variants of the virus that causes COVID-19, according to a new French study. .

In fact, data show that over 85% of children infected with Omicron were admitted to the intensive care unit.

The researchers said their study highlights the urgent need to expand COVID-19 vaccination to children with SCD aged 5 and older.

The result isSevere cases of COVID-19 in children with sickle cell disease during the French Omicron wave: a plea for vaccinationin the ” British Journal of Hematology.

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Adults with SCD, especially older patients, have been reported to be at increased risk of severe disease when infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. In the first wave of the pandemic, COVID-19 appeared to primarily affect adults, but children were generally spared.

However, viruses can acquire mutations that change their behavior over time. When this happens, scientists consider it a new subspecies.

One of the newest subspecies of SARS-CoV-2, called Omicron, is generally considered to be less severe for adults, but it is causing more children to be hospitalized.

Recommended Immunizations for Children Ages 5-11

Despite such data, “little is known about the severity of Omicron variants in patients with SCD, especially in children,” the researchers wrote.

French researchers have now analyzed the outcomes of children with SCD infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant from December 2021 to April 2022.

Vaccination against COVID-19 is recommended for children with SCD aged 5 to 11 years from November 2021 in France.

The team contacted all physicians treating both adult and pediatric SCD patients in France and asked about hospitalized sickle cell patients with severe COVID-19.

A total of 29 SCD patients were hospitalized with severe disease during the four months of Omicron widespread use. Of these, 17 (59%) were children, with a median age of 9.4 years for him.

The majority — 13 children, or 76.5% — had the most severe form of SCD, meaning that they had inherited a defective copy of betaglobin (HBB) genes from both parents.

Most children (76.5%) were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, but only two received the vaccine. One 14-year-old patient received her first dose and a 16-year-old patient received her second dose.

A total of 14 children (82.7%) presented with severe acute chest syndrome (ACS) and all had bone pain. One child, on the other hand, had severe anemia associated with her mild ACS.

Thrombi were detected in two patients, including in the lung (pulmonary embolism) and in the deep veins of the legs (deep vein thrombosis).

Another 2 children developed multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS).

The majority (88.2%) were admitted to the intensive care unit. All survived and none required intubation for mechanical ventilation.

However, 13 patients (86.7%) required non-invasive respiratory support, such as a high-flow nasal cannula. Blood transfusion he required in 16 patients (94.1%).

The median length of hospital stay for children was 13 days, with hospital stays ranging from 8 to 33 days.

“Omicron variants have been demonstrated to reduce the severity of COVID-19 in adults, at least in part due to the widespread distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine,” the researchers wrote. ing.

However, researchers say data from the US National COVID Cohort Collaborative Study (N3C) mirrors data from the French study.

U.S. data showed that “COVID-19 pediatric ICU rates increased during the Omicron surge, with more than one-fifth of SARS-CoV-2-infected ICU children developing severe symptoms.” ‘, they wrote.

Although no children required mechanical ventilation and no deaths occurred, these findings indicate that children with SCD developed severe symptoms after being infected with the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant. increase.

Previous reports have shown that the COVID-19 vaccine reduced the risk of Omicron-related hospitalization in children aged 5–11 years and prevented severe illness in adolescents. Another study suggested that adolescents vaccinated against COVID-19 had a lower incidence of her associated MIS.

Overall, despite ongoing debate about whether all healthy children should be vaccinated, the study says researchers have an urgent need to scale up COVID-19 vaccination. It is emphasized that

The researchers recommend vaccines for all patients with SCD aged 5 years and older, saying “vaccine coverage was low among children hospitalized with severe outcomes reported in this study.”