Covid-19 in children: different from adults

My eldest son, now 16, was incorrectly diagnosed with terminal cancer when he was five. He is one of very few children ever sent home from the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, Cape Town on the basis of an error like that. 

The paediatric oncologist explained to us that children are not actually small adults. This was a point missed by the specialists who gave us the devastating diagnosis after mistakenly identifying pancreatic tissue that wasn’t in its “adult position” as an inoperable tumour.

When it comes to Covid-19, it is clear that children are also different from adults. The SA government no longer routinely breaks down cases in age groups, but US data suggests that less than 2% of people who test positive for Covid-19 are children, even though they make up about 22% of that population.

Although children are not immune to Covid-19, they are less likely to get severely ill or spread it as effectively as adults. Teenagers are also in a low-risk category, with Covid-19 deaths mostly among the elderly and already-ill.

This is the type of picture that is fuelling calls for in-school learning – which has social and educational benefits – to resume. Many are concerned that the long-term negative effects of keeping pupils out of classrooms outweigh the short-term benefits of freeing up hospital beds.

For the latest research, interviews and insights on how the Covid-19 pandemic affects your physical, mental and financial health, listen to our Inside Covid-19 podcasts with BizNews founder Alec Hogg (here).

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