At the beginning of the pandemic, one of the first questions scientists asked was, “What are the risks to children?” The information that came out of China – apart from existing conditions – the younger you are, the more Lower risk Infects with serious COVID. Children’s lives have been taken by the coronavirus, Small number..
This reflects the situation seen with influenza.Children get sick with the virus, but the effects on preteen, if any, are far less serious than they are. For adults.. But that doesn’t mean that the flu in children isn’t a problem – the exact opposite.
In the UK, elementary school children are vaccinated against the flu. Raise their nose.. This is not done primarily to protect them from the relatively mild symptoms they may suffer, but it does happen, but they become infected and become mobile virus factories, to the adults around them. This is to reduce the chance of getting infected. Mild illnesses in children due to the flu can be fatal when transmitted to grandparents.
In the early days of the pandemic, this low-level illness in children of all ages led to some assumptions that they rarely caught the virus. In fact, when evidence began to appear that they had caught the virus, the question was raised as to whether they could pass it on to adults.
Knowing that children could be the driving force behind the spread of the virus, some experts cautioned that pre-teenage infections were not a problem. While it was clear from the number of hospitalized people that childhood illness was far from the most pressing problem of the pandemic, their potential to promote infection was the cause of the school closure.
Most coronavirus epidemics Private home, And that’s true. However, if you prevent the virus from invading your house in the first place, your entire house will be protected. Picking up the virus from asymptomatic classmates and stopping the child from bringing the virus back from school is one way to do that.
In the UK, politicians and educational unions called for: Vaccinate teachers And open school. However, it is the risk to the wider community, not the staff, that causes the closure.
Kent variant
With the advent of the worrisome coronavirus known as the rapidly spreading “Kent mutant,” some doctors have noticed more often. Infectious diseases in children.. The numbers remain low, but increasing infections in any group, regardless of age, are expected to increase illness and hospitalization.
Israeli pediatrician reported Increased infectious diseases in children.. However, it is currently in countries that are vaccinated against many of the unvaccinated adult population. Under 16 years old.. Therefore, it is not surprising that children should account for an increased proportion of Israeli coronavirus infections as a fully unvaccinated part of the population. If not vaccinated, it may reflect or exceed what is seen in adults.
Data of our world, CC BY
However, Italian doctors, whose population is relatively weak compared to Israel, Recently observed A large number of Kent mutant infections in children who appear to have found a way to adults.
It’s unclear if this is due to the reopening of school, but it’s tempting to speculate that this is the reason. Nevertheless, the observation that infection in children leads to infection in adults, which can lead to more serious illnesses, needs to be taken into account.
Uncertain evidence
When British Health Minister Matt Hancock first reported this “variant of concern” to the public, it prompted many negative comments from scientists and doctors.But as the quality and quantity of data increased, it became clear that it was. More contagious..
Recent uncertain suggestions that it may be more deadly will crystallize or disappear. More data will be accumulated..
Neil Ferguson, a professor of mathematical biology at Imperial College London, Said there is a hintAccording to available data, Kent variants are “more likely to infect children.” However, this is also uncertain and requires more data.
Of course, increasing infectivity in children is not indifferent, but perhaps the greatest impact on our health is to act as a means of infecting adults and causing illness to those for whom vaccination cannot provide protection. Is to do.
