Kids Are Less Susceptible To COVID-19, But It’s Not Clear Why

A lot of parents (including me) are anxious about the expanding coronavirus outbreak in California. More than 50 Californians have been confirmed to have the new disease called COVID-19, which has killed over 3,000 people around the world. 

Early data, however, has reduced my parental panic.

A World Health Organization-China Joint Mission report from last month found that kids comprised only 2.4 percent of cases, and that they generally suffered less severe respiratory symptoms than adults. Most children experienced cold-like symptoms such as a fever, runny nose and cough. Vomiting and diarrhea were extremely rare. And children are, so far, not experiencing acute respiratory distress syndrome or septic shock, which is occurring in some adults. 

Infants appear to do well, too. None of the babies in a small study required mechanical ventilation or intensive care while at Chinese hospitals, and they all recovered from the illness. As of Feb. 11, no children under the age of 10 have died from the new coronavirus in China.

“I think that the biggest conclusion we can make is that kids, if they get it, seem to have milder disease,” says Dr. Lee Atkinson-McEvoy, division chief of general pediatrics at UCSF. “We should not make the leap that kids innately have some protection that their adult counterparts don’t have.”

Most people who have died from the new coronavirus are older people in China, many of whom had pre-existing conditions. 

If this trends continues, scientists may be able to glean more information about how the new coronavirus behaves by studying the immunity that kids are displaying.

History also offers reassurance. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, limited data show that children were not particularly susceptible to previous outbreaks like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and Middle East respiratory syndrome, called MERS. Both of these fatal diseases are in the same family as COVID-19.

Now, the disease that’s currently more threatening to my daughter is this year’s influenza. It has killed about 18,000 people in the U.S., including 125 children. Federal officials are still urging people to get this year’s flu vaccine. 

But it’s still early in the new coronavirus outbreak. There are many unanswered questions about behaviors in China that could have influenced the numbers. 

“Did schools close early?” asks Dr. Atkinson-McEvoy. “What’s the prevalence of daycare attendance? What is the interaction between the adult population and the pediatric population that would make the numbers appear different in the United States?” 

Public health experts recommend children follow the same preventive actions as adults to avoid infection. Wash hands frequently throughout the day with hot soapy water. Avoid touching your face with dirty hands.

Carry alcohol-based hand sanitizer or disinfectant wipes, especially if you’re a parent with a little one — my daughter does not easily cooperate when I try to scrub her hands. 

Even though early data on kids is promising, doctors caution that both premature infants and children with underlying chronic health conditions are still at high-risk for developing complications.

Copyright 2020 KQED