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Young People Often Don’t Show COVID-19 Symptoms Considered Typical

A new study makes an argument for increased testing of children and adolescents for COVID-19, especially because so many of them present with atypical symptoms. That is especially important for children too young – 11 and under – to be vaccinated. Here is what the study had to say about novel coronavirus symptoms in the youngest age groups.

BIRMINGHAM, AL – With COVID-19 vaccines now available for people as young as 12, many Americans who contract the virus in the near future are likely to be children. That’s why a new report offers some important information: Youngsters infected with SARS-CoV-2 often don’t show typical symptoms such as fever, cough or shortness of breath.

The article in Scientific Reports examined data on 12,306 children and adolescents with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 across the United States.

University of Alabama at Birmingham-led researchers determined that 18.8% of the children, 18 and younger, included in the study reported symptoms such as fever, malaise, muscle or joint pain, and disturbances of smell or taste. . 16.5% of children had respiratory symptoms including cough and shortness of breath, 13.9% had gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, 8.1% had dermatological symptoms and 4.8% had headaches.

Of those, 5.5% (672) were hospitalized, with 118 (17.6%) and 38 (4.1%) requiring critical care services and mechanical ventilation, respectively.

Background information in the article points out that children and adolescents have accounted for about 13% of total COVID-19 cases in the United States.

The study found that, while the risk of hospitalization was similar between males and females, it was higher in non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic children compared with non-Hispanic white children, although race and ethnicity did not appear to affect the risk of requiring critical care and mechanical ventilation.

“The findings suggest that children and adolescents with COVID-19 may have a milder course of illness than adults, but disparities in severity appear to exist between non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic and non-Hispanic white children in the US,” the authors wrote. “Given the high frequency of cases without typical symptoms, increased vigilance, innovative screening, and frequent testing may be required among school-going children and their immediate contacts as schools reopen. Implementation of these strategies may need to be enhanced among children from racial/ethnic minorities to curtail the existing COVID-19 related health disparities.”.

The authors point out that more than 4.2 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. They add that the lower observed prevalence of COVID-19 in the pediatric age group worldwide is attributed to both widespread school closures and challenges in the adequate screening and testing of children, especially those who are asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic.

“The cautious reopening of schools in the United States and other countries has occurred in the backdrop of an increased possibility of community transmission of COVID-19 among children in schools,” researchers concluded. “Thus, it is important to characterize the demographic, clinical characteristics, and outcomes in children infected with COVID-19.”