Is Omicron seriously underestimated? Study: Infections in children have doubled! Is upper respiratory tract infection likely to be severe?
Is Omicron seriously undervalued? Study: Infection rates among children have doubled
Omicron’s infectious ability is amazing? The authoritative international journal “Nature” reported that a new U.S. national analysis study found that about two-thirds of children aged 1-4 in the United States have been infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Since the Omicron pandemic, the infection rate among children has dropped The rise is significantly higher than that of other age groups.
The study analyzed blood samples from 86,000 children and adolescents under the age of 18 and found that the infection rate among the youngest children more than doubled from 33% to 68%. The research team pointed out that based on antibody testing, it is estimated that most children aged 1-17 have been infected before February, with the infection rate among children aged 5-11 reaching 77%, the highest among all age groups. .
Officially reported COVID-19 diagnoses in children under 18 years old in the United States account for about 17%, but epidemiologist Kristie Clarke, the author of this study, believes that the official figures are based on positive PCR tests, which may seriously underestimate the true infection rate. Because many asymptomatic and mildly ill people have not received PCR tests. Therefore, the study chose to test antibodies in the blood to determine how many children have developed immunity after being infected with COVID-19.
Under 5 years old are 5 times more likely to be hospitalized! Children more susceptible to Omicron infection
Clarke and others claimed that the risk of severe illness in children infected with Omicron was only about 1/3 of Delta. However, Omicron’s strong contagiousness caused the number of hospitalizations in children under 5 years old to be as high as five times that of Delta during the peak period of transmission. The number of severe cases is also 3.5 times that of Delta.
Kristie Clarke and others believe there are many possible reasons for the increase in infections in children, including that there are no vaccines available for children under 5 years old and that younger children are less likely to be vaccinated than other older children, teenagers and adults. Precautions such as wearing masks and social distancing. However, hospitalization rates among children are still lower than among other older age groups so far.
Fiona Russell, an infectious disease scholar at the University of Melbourne in Australia, commented on the study and said that although the immunity generated by children after infection can help prevent the next infection and severe illness, I am afraid that it will take most children around the world to be vaccinated before the epidemic can spread. It will be declared over.
Delta 6 times more contagious, 20% of upper respiratory tract infections are severe?
Another online study published in the American Medical Association’s “Journal of Pediatrics” also found that the infection rate of Omicron is about 6-8 times that of Delta, but the severity rate is only 16%-85% lower. About 1.8% of children infected with Omicron will be hospitalized. However, the infection rate of children under 4 years old is 10-15 times higher than that of Delta, and the reduction in the risk of severe disease is quite limited.
The research team reminded that since most infected children have not been vaccinated, whether the COVID-19 virus will have unknown effects on children’s brain, heart, immune system and other organs still requires continuous monitoring and observation in the future.
Another study in the “Journal of Pediatric Medicine” stated that infection with SARS-CoV-2 may not only cause symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection (Upper airway infection) in children. About 20% (384 people) of the 18,849 children hospitalized with confirmed cases Upper respiratory tract infection occurred, with 81 (21%) children experiencing severe illness.
Studies claim that with the widespread spread of Omicron, the number of children suffering from severe disease has increased accordingly. Severe upper respiratory tract diseases, such as larynx, tracheitis, and bronchitis (croup), may cause cardiac arrest and other risks in pediatric patients, requiring intubation and other treatments in the intensive care unit. When young children develop upper respiratory tract infection symptoms At this time, more attention needs to be paid to the risk of developing severe illness.
source:
Most US kids have caught the coronavirus, antibody survey finds
Omicron ’less severe’ than delta for children ages 4 and younger, study suggests
Further reading:
There is a new virus! COVID-19 mutates every 6 months? Beware of Delta’s comeback
