One of the notable features of the new coronavirus, early in the epidemic, is that it saves large numbers of children. Some fall into serious illness, but deaths are lower than in adults.
By Associated Press Bachelor / The Advocate, Associated Press
Metairi in Gust, la. Students at one of the schools welcomed back to class.
But people of color have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19, a disease caused by coronavirus, and recent studies have raised concerns about the susceptibility of children in these communities.
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They are infected at a higher rate than white children, and are admitted to the hospital five to eight times more often than white children. Children of color make more and more of people who develop a fatal complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome or MIS-C.
Of the more than 180,000 Americans who have died from Covid-19, less than 100 are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But most of the children of color have died of Covid-19.
The deaths included 41 Hispanic children, 24 black children, 19 white children, three Asian-American children, three American Indian / Alaskan children and two multicultural children.
The unique vulnerabilities of these youngsters are also coming to light as the incidence of infection among children continues to rise and schools and parents across the country are struggling with clear decisions on safe reopening.
The susceptibility of minority children to this disease is not unique to the United States. Hospitalized black children in the United Kingdom were more likely to transfer whites to critical care and develop MIS-C, according to a study published last week in the journal BMJ.
Pediatric Emergency Medicine Specialist at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. “Kids aren’t in a vacuum,” Monica K. Goyle said.
Of the 1,000 children tested for Covid-19 at a Washington site in March and April, about half of Hispanic children and about a third of black children tested positive for coronavirus.
“They live in homes where their parents or carers do not have the luxury of telecommunications, so they are at increased risk of exposure.” “They are also more likely to live in high-rise homes. It’s all connected. “
E j c. Hong / Associated Press
Closed playground in Commerce, California, in July.
Poverty is also associated with a higher risk of infection, and research by Dr. G. Goyal, published Tuesday in the Journal of Pediatrics, found that children from low-income families are more likely to be infected than affluent parents.
“There is nothing to indicate that there is a genetic predisposition to covid depending on the species or race,” said Dr. Goyal, adding that the rate of infection is due to increased exposure to the virus.
Stanford’s professor of pediatrics, Dr. Wowne Mldonado agrees: “I know what’s going on with those kids. Their parents are frontline, blue collar or essential workers. “
Dr. Maldonado said he frequently treats adult patients with coronavirus who said their partners or children are also sick.
Researchers at Harvard have reported higher infection rates in Massachusetts communities, with more immigrants, food service personnel and, for the most part, people living in shared homes.
Immigrants may be reluctant to seek medical care, and employees working in the food service industry often lack adequate paid sick leave, according to Harvard TH. Said Jose Figueroa, assistant professor of health policy and management at the Chan School.
“You have the perfect recipe for a quick broadcast of Covid-19 in the Latino community,” he said. “Working adults who go to work because they need to put food on the table and pay rent, and who often have young children.”
While the patrons of the restaurant worry about the distance between the tables and wonder if they go out to eat, “Someone prepares to dine in the back, and there is no luxury to come out of town.” D Fig. Said Figueroa. “They’re in small kitchens cooking food, and even if they wear masks, they’re often in small, confined spaces.”
The exact number of children infected with coronavirus is not known, as young children have a mild course of the disease and have never been tested regularly in the United States.
A mother of the Bronx, who asked to be identified only as Darlene to protect her child’s privacy, said her son had been ill for months during the spring peak of a coronavirus outbreak in New York City. But health providers in the Bronx ignored her repeated requests for year-on-year testing in March and most of April, as she has no fever and no difficulty breathing, she said.
When she managed to test it in April, the result was negative. But her son was lethargic, complained of abdominal pain, constant diarrhea, and often went to bed crying in the middle of the night.
Usually an active and playful toddler, he had trouble walking and often fell, Darle said: “I knew something was wrong – this was not my baby.”
Finally, in June, when her symptoms were resolved, Darlene managed to take her to her regular doctor at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, who tested her for antibodies to the virus. The result was positive, indicating that he was actually infected. (Other family members have tested negative for antibodies).
Dr. Goyal’s study found that Hispanic children were six times more likely to be tested positive for coronavirus than white children who came to Washington for testing. Black children test twice as positively as white children.
Two other reports by the CDC last month increased the risk of poor results for children of color.
Hispanic children had the greatest risk of serious disease: they were hospitalized at eight times the rate of white children, while black children were hospitalized at five times the rate of white children, according to the CDC.
The CDC study, which looked at 576 children under the age of 18 who were hospitalized in 14 states between March 1 and July 25, found that nearly half had at least one health condition. The most common was obesity, followed by chronic lung disease and premature birth.
Of the children admitted to the hospital whose race and ethnicity were known, about half were Hispanic and 29 percent were black. Hispanic and black children also have lower rates of underlying health conditions: 45 percent and 29 percent, respectively. Among white children, 15 percent have underlying health problems.
The second CDC paper looked at 70 states in the MIS-C states, Columbia District and New York City, between March 2 and July 18. Of those whose race was known, only 13 percent were white; 40 percent were Hispanic, and 33 percent were black.
Only less than one percent were Asian and about 10 percent were listed as “other” or multicultural. Less than 1 percent of children were American Indian / Native of Alaska or native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander.
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Before the onset of MIS-C, two-thirds of children had no pre-existing medical conditions, although the proportion of obese people was slightly higher than the general population. The most common symptoms were abdominal pain, vomiting, skin rashes, and diarrhea.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, the incidence of the disease has decreased in infants, but there has been a 21 percent increase in confirmed infections in children between the second and third weeks of August.
The academy estimates that of the million million Covid-1 cases in the United States, 6,476,4399 confirmed cases of infection in children, by age, representing 5 percent of cases in states that test positive. (The definition of a child varies by state, but is usually 18 and under or under 18.)
Since most children infected with the virus have a mild or asymptomatic illness, many cases may have been missed earlier this year, when testing was rare and very limited to the disease, said Dr. Alifiah Malabari, an assistant professor of medicine. Icon School of Medicine on Mount Sinai in New York.
When parents called their pediatricians and said their children had symptoms, “our line was, ‘This could be Covid – you quarantine yourself because if you were Covid,'” Dr. Malbari said. “The playground was also closed, so it was easy to do.”
Now, with schools opening up and more widely available tests, “we have to take these symptoms really, really seriously.”
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