COVID-19 Disease In Children
Over the course of the pandemic, we have seen that COVID-19 disease affect people differently. Older adults and those with underlying medical conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, are at higher risk of getting severe illness from coronavirus. While risk factors for hospitalization and poor outcomes associated with COVID disease are well documented in adults, the reasons for the disease severity in children is less understood.
With the possibility of third wave of COVID-19 soon and given the fact that the vast majority of children remain unvaccinated and susceptible, it becomes more important to identify the factors that can put children at high risk of developing severe COVID disease. This can help in planning preventive strategies for children.
With these thoughts in mind, a group of physicians at Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt studied data from 45 children's hospitals located across the United States -- 20,000 children with COVID-19 were included. The study, Factors Associated with COVID-19 Disease Severity in U.S. Children, was recently published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine.