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While different countries in the world, including Colombia, are already advancing the first face-to-face classes after months of work at home, the scientific debate on the effects of covid-19 on children’s health takes on special relevance.
How much does the virus affect children? Will reopening schools trigger contagion rates? Do minors spread SARS-CoV-2 more easily?
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Faced with these questions, a recent study carried out by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) in the United States, considered the most complete to date on the matter, gives new clues about the true impact of the pandemic on children .
The data collected by the study maintains that the United States has officially registered 277,285 cases of coronavirus in children ages 5 to 17 since March and 51 deaths, at a time when schools are studying reopening their doors.
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Between March 1 and September 19, the fatality rate – the proportion of confirmed cases that have died – calculated for school-age children in the United States is 0.018 percent, according to this study.
The new figures confirm that the true fatality of the coronavirus is extremely low in this age group, compared to adults and especially the elderly.
Previous reports seem to confirm the trend. In another analysis published on its site on September 10, the CDC estimated that, in the most likely scenario, the fatality rates by age group (number of deaths over actual number of infections) were 0.003 percent (0- 19 years), 0.02 percent (20-49 years), 0.5 percent (50-69 years) and 5.4 percent (70 years and over).
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Among children, there is a notable difference between those older and younger than 11, the researchers say. The incidence was twice that of 12 to 17 years of age than in those of 5 to 11 years.
And the analysis confirms that minorities are the most affected in the country: 42 percent of infected children were Hispanic, 32 percent were white, and 17 percent were black. Of 277,000 cases, 3,240 were hospitalized, 404 were admitted to intensive care and 51 died.
In general, several studies in the United States and elsewhere have shown that children are less vulnerable than adults, although not completely immune.
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In the magazine Sciences, last week, two researchers from the United Kingdom said that hospitalizations of infected children were rare and that only 1 percent of children who were hospitalized died, compared to 27 percent overall for all average ages.
However, the discussion now turns to another point: Are children potential transmitters of the virus? This question would be crucial when it comes to reopening schools, since, while they may not develop advanced symptoms, some believe they could infect their families.
The scientific debate, then, now seeks to understand whether young people are infected less or as much as adults. Last week, an analysis that compiled 32 studies on the subject and that was published by the journal Jama Pediatrics, found that children and adolescents under the age of 20 were in fact 44 percent less likely to become infected.
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Despite this, the same analysis could not find a conclusive result as to whether children were, on the other hand, more or less vectors than adults. This means that science has not discovered the ability of the virus to spread from minors to adults.
Hence the recent recommendations of WHO, Unesco and Unicef, who despite insisting that classrooms be reopened, do not neglect biosecurity measures:
“The most important thing to go back to school is that the disease is reduced in the community. If transmission is low in the community, if epidemiological surveillance, contact tracing and sanitation are good, then schools can reopen, “said WHO.
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By the way, the virologist Francisco Henao, assured that, based on scientific evidence, the recommendations given by these international organizations would make sense:
“Studies to date have made it clear that children can be infected, but less than an adult. However, they have not been able to determine the ability of children to transmit the virus. We do not know if it is less than that of adults, but we do not know if it is greater. For this reason, it is recommended that the biosafety controls with them be stricter, taking into account that it is more difficult for them to follow these protocols, and hence the UN recommendation to continue with the reopening of schools, but taking the necessary measures necessary, because just as the economy is recent with the closures, the learning and development process of children is also affected. It is necessary to find a balance ”.
* With information from AFP
