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While the risk of dying from the coronavirus is minimal among those under 18, young people, particularly adolescents, are not immune to the infection and are even an increasingly important vector, according to a US federal study.
A sign that the coronavirus is not a marginal phenomenon among young people, the study analyzed 277,285 confirmed cases of COVID-19 affecting school-aged children (i.e. 5 to 17 years old) declared between March 1 and September 19 across 37 states.
The incidence of the disease was “approximately” twice as high in adolescents aged 12 to 17 compared to children aged 5 to 11, the researchers found. In fact, over the period studied, there were on average, per week, 37.4 new cases per 100,000 adolescents, against 19 new cases per 100,000 children.
Of all school-aged children who were diagnosed positive, 58% reported having at least one symptom, 5% had none, while for the rest no data was available.
A total of 3,240 children aged 5 to 17 required hospital care due to the severity of the disease, or 1.2% of cases in this age group, of which 404 (0.1% ) required intensive care.
Sadly, 51 school-aged children, or less than 0.02% of the study population, died from COVID-19.
Children with an underlying health problem, such as chronic breathing problems or immunosuppressive illness, or from certain ethnic communities, were more likely to be hospitalized.
The study, which appeared earlier this week, was sponsored by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Rising cases
In the United States, COVID-19 cases are on the rise, both among those under 18 and young adults aged 20 to 29, “suggesting that young individuals may play an increasing role. important in community transmission, ”according to the authors.
Their work does not help explain why there are more diagnosed cases of coronavirus in adolescents than in children. The researchers note, however, that the prevalence of the virus may be underestimated in children, since asymptomatic infections are more common in children.
