COVID-19 is more dangerous for the older population. In fact, children rarely suffer from serious COVID-19 symptoms and death from this viral infection in young populations is very rare.
However, scientists from Universities of Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Strathclyde and St Andrews and Public Health Scotland found that children with poorly controlled asthma are three to six times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19.
Children usually get over COVID-19 pretty safely, unless they have poorly controlled asthma. Image credit: Alan Levine via Wikimedia (CC BY 2.0)
COVID-19 is a serious viral infection and it spreads quite easily. However, children usually remain unaffected. COVID-19 in children usually doesn’t show severe symptoms and asymptomatic cases are particularly common. However, age is only one factor which helps address the COVID-19 risk. Chronic diseases, such as asthma, can significantly increase the risk of severe COVID-19.
Scientists used the Scotland-wide EAVE II Covid-19 surveillance platform, which includes 750 thousand health records for 5 to 17 year olds. 63,463 children from these records were diagnosed with asthma and 4,339 were confirmed to have COVID-19 between 1 March 2020 and 27 July 2021. 67 children with asthma and COVID-19 had to be hospitalized. Scientists compared these numbers with children who do not have asthma – there were 40,231 confirmed cases of Covid-19 among them and 382 children were admitted to hospitals.
Scientists found that hospitalization rates were 54 per 100,000 of children without asthma, 91 per 100,000 of children with well controlled asthma and 255 per 100,000 of children with poorly controlled asthma. In essence, this means that children with poorly controlled asthma are three to six times more likely to be hospitalized with Covid-19 than those without the condition. This increase in risk is significant enough for scientists to recommend children with asthma to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to reduce the risk of hospitalization.
Professor Aziz Sheikh, lead author of the study, said: “As with any medical intervention, it is important to consider both the risks and benefits from vaccinations. Emerging evidence from children aged 5 and older suggests that Covid-19 vaccines are overall well-tolerated by the vast majority of children. It is now for policymakers to decide how to act on these data. These data also underscore the importance of maintaining good asthma control in children, particularly during the pandemic”.
COVID-19 spreads very easily and while most cases pass without any medical treatment, it can be dangerous. Eventually it reaches someone who has weaker immunity or impaired respiratory system and it becomes really dangerous. Protecting all people with asthma is very important.
Source: University of Edinburgh