1/ Q: What do we know about #kids and #COVID19 transmission?
A: We STILL need more data. But so far there is evidence that:
1) kids (especially younger kids) are less likely to be infected (yay!).
2) kids *may* be less likely to transmit SARS-CoV-2 to others.
2/ How do we know this?
We know that children are under-represented in case numbers all over the world, but in theory this could be because of mild or #asymptomatic illness that makes them less likely to be #tested.
3/ To rule this out, some studies have tested all members of infected households. Using PCR tests for current infections, kids (esp. ages 0-10) seem about half as likely to become infected as adults.
4/ But if kids are often asymptomatic, they might have already been infected and recovered, and thus less likely to test positive to a PCR test, right?
YES! To get at this, we have some emerging serology (blood) evidence of antibodies--and thus previous infection.
5/ A population-based sample from Geneva found that only 0.8% of children ages 5-9 had positive antibodies, compared to an overall seroprevalence of 10.8% in the population. thelancet.com/journals/lance…
6/ What about transmission?
This one is trickier to pin down, since children may be more likely to be asymptomatic -> less likely to be identified as an “index case” in a household.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any hard data that has followed many kids over time as of yet.
7/ Schools were already closed during many of these early household #ContactTracing studies, meaning kids had less exposure and opportunity to transmit to their families than they normally would have.
8/ We have some evidence that infected kids may have lower viral loads than infected adults, but how this translates into infectiousness is not known.
Hopefully we will have some better data soon because schools are reopening in some countries.🏫
9/ Emerging data is mixed: Denmark re-opened schools without much incident, but some infection flare ups and clusters after classes resumed in Israel (especially in middle & high school, since infection risk for tweens and teens is more similar to adults). npr.org/sections/coron…
10/ Until we have more data, it’s prudent to assume that kids CAN transmit, even if less effectively, and to plan individual, family, and community risk reduction accordingly.
Some helpful summaries of current knowledge on kids and #Covid_19:
dontforgetthebubbles.com/the-missing-li…
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