Truth behind Covid infections in kids

A groundbreaking study has made a startling discovery about Covid infections in Aussie kids that sets us apart from the rest of the world.

Australian children catch the coronavirus at an average age of six and one in five has another health issue making them more vulnerable, a new national snapshot shows.

Just over half are boys and two-thirds have symptoms such as cough, fever and sore throats, the first analysis of every child with Covid who presented to hospital during 2020 has found.

Those with no symptoms had an average age of seven, compared to 5.7 years for those with symptoms, the analysis of 385 children from eight hospitals around the country reveals.

One in five were admitted and all recovered, according to the data from March to December 2020. One had invasive ventilation. Most had symptoms for two days before they were taken to hospital.

The analysis shows Australian child Covid cases differ from those in many countries overseas where hospitalisation rates were higher last year. Fewer children in this country have symptoms compared to China and Italy and no children died compared to many European countries. Children in the US who caught Covid also were older – on average they were aged 11.

A young child receives a Covid-19 Vaccine in the USA. Picture: AFP.

Three quarters of the cases were Australian-born children from areas of high community transmission and most caught it from a household contact.

The analysis, published in the influential Paediatrics journal on Monday, was conducted by a team led by paediatrician Danielle Wurzel from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Comorbidities were found in about one in five children, most commonly cardiac and respiratory conditions. Those in the latter category mostly had asthma. Of these children, one in 10 went to hospital and two ended up in intensive care but made a full recovery. Rates of post-Covid inflammation were low.

Dr Wurzel said preventive strategies, such as vaccination of children and adolescents, could reduce the impact of the disease.

“When evaluating the benefits of vaccinating children, the potential direct benefits of protecting against severe Covid-19 as well as postinfective inflammatory conditions need to be considered,” she said.

“In summary, in our cohort of children with SARS-CoV-2 infection from all tertiary paediatric hospitals across Australia, the majority had mild or asymptomatic disease and need for intensive care management was much less common than in high-prevalence regions.”