It was finally revealed how contagious children are with coronavirus

At the time of the coronavirus epidemic, the most common headache for decision makers around the world is whether schools should be closed to prevent outbreaks, but so far there have only been cautious opinions about the chances of children contracting. and spread the disease.

National Geographic has obtained exclusive information on the results of a large Icelandic study that discovered the extent to which children are contributing to the spread of the epidemic.

A study carried out jointly by the government health ministry and the genomics company deCODE looked at all adults and children who were quarantined during the first wave of spring because they could have found an infected person, that is, classified as a contact. .

Research involving 40,000 people has clearly shown that those under the age of 15 are half as likely to become infected and spread the virus as adults, and almost all children with coronavirus have contracted the disease from adults.

Kári Stefánsson, the CEO of deCODE spoke about

Children can become infected and pass the infection to others, but this is much less common in them than in adults.

The research is authoritative only because there was one among the quarantined families that had to be isolated from the outside world due to the exposure of the children, so that they would know exactly who would infect whom.

Iceland has never closed primary schools since the outbreak started, only secondary schools and universities have switched to online education. Stefánsson said his study was the subject of professional criticism, but as stated, the meticulous data set is compelling enough in itself.

And Iceland has become an animal model for human society.

However, he pointed out that if everything were closed outside of schools, children would become the main vectors of the disease. Although they have a lower risk of infection, hotspots can still form in educational institutions.

There is still speculation about why the infection rate is so much lower in children. One theory is that they are exposed to the coronavirus multiple times, creating a kind of defense mechanism in their body. Another idea is that because children have far fewer ACE2 receptors in the upper airways, which are more frequently attacked by the coronavirus, they can get sick less often.

Of course, the research does not mean that from now on we can meet children without precaution, because the infection can also be transmitted from them, only that the chances are much lower.