US children, parents do DIY test for coronavirus science

“The bottom line is that we don’t yet know how far children can get the virus,” said Dr. Tina Hartle at Vanderbilt University, which heads up government-funded research.

Evidence from the United States, China, and Europe shows that children are less likely to be infected with the virus than adults and less likely to be ill if they become ill. Data suggests that young children may not spread the virus very well, but children over the age of 10 may spread the virus as easily as adults. New research aims to find more solid evidence.

“It would be very encouraging if there were no serious infections in the household,” Hartle said.

A DIY experiment drawn from participants in a previous government survey registered about 2,000 families in 11 cities in the United States. The total is 6,000. They have no direct contact with researchers. Test supplies will be mailed home.

They collect their nasal swabs for COVID-19 tests and rarely collect blood and stool samples. Specimens will be mailed to the survey organizer. Participants ask about symptoms, receive a text message inviting them to test, and fill out a survey.

This study will help determine the safety of in-class education during a pandemic. However, no results are expected by the end of the year.

For Mendy and Joe McNulty and their two youngest children. Cleaning your nose at home, Juliet, TN, is a family problem. The test supplies are spread over a carefully wiped kitchen counter where four people gather to perform the ritual. Mendy McNulty helps a boy wipe with a cotton swab.

“I’m glad I was able to contribute somehow,” she said, explaining why the family chose to join. “The virus is not very well known. It felt like we were helping something, even if we could do a little.”

It is difficult to pinpoint the exact number of COVID-19 cases in children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have identified at least 175,000 confirmed cases in patients under the age of 17, accounting for less than 10% of all confirmed cases. However, the true number is probably much higher because many children have silent or vague symptoms of the infection and have not been tested.

Data on the spread of children and coronaviruses is also ambiguous. Hundreds of cases of infections have been reported in children and staff at day care centers in the United States, but it is unclear whether children and adults were the major cases of infection.

Family studies also investigated whether children with asthma and allergies could have some degree of protection for COVID-19. Evidence of the case suggests them, but “I don’t know what the mechanism is,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The institute pays for research.

As a mother, a former school teacher and scientist Hartert wants to help bridge the gap. She admits that no one in her family may be infected, but given the number of COVID-19 cases across the country, she says it’s very unlikely.

Mendi McNulty says her family has been healthy so far. Both she and her husband are 39 years old and are not very worried about getting infected.

She is interested in what happens when the children return to school in mid-August. Two classrooms a week, socially separated from masks, three days online.

“Schools are just like little Petri dishes,” said McNulty, a former teacher.

If it should happen, “I’m ready to get everyone back home,” she said.

The boys (7-year-old Andrew and 9-year-old Hudson) were excited to join the study, McNulty said. She’s helping them wipe their noses, and they both say it really doesn’t hurt.

“It tickles occasionally,” said Andrew. Or, “I feel like she’s sticking it to the extreme.”

Dr. David Kimberlin says he and other infectious disease specialists have been waiting for the kind of data the study will provide.

“Generally speaking, the effects of the virus are different in children and adults,” said Kimberlin, a pediatric professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. “Why? I need to know more.”

Follow AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner on Twitter: @LindseyTanner

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