Not much time to tweet but this is important
Figures for hospitalisations and deaths for kids from COVID-19 should be treated with *extreme caution*
Incidental positive tests make up a big proportion - up to 40% in data from California
nymag.com/intelligencer/…
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Figures for hospitalisations and deaths for kids from COVID-19 should be treated with *extreme caution*
Incidental positive tests make up a big proportion - up to 40% in data from California
nymag.com/intelligencer/…
1/4
Remember the paediatric wards in London supposedly filling up with children with COVID-19 last autumn?
Not only were they not very sick, a full 33% of them were admitted for something unrelated to COVID-19
They just happened to test positive
doi.org/10.1016/S2352-…
2/4
Not only were they not very sick, a full 33% of them were admitted for something unrelated to COVID-19
They just happened to test positive
doi.org/10.1016/S2352-…
2/4
Reports are of 600 child deaths from COVID-19 in the US, but no clarification of how many children died WITH COVID-19, or FROM COVID-19 (unlike adults, this is a big issue for kids data)
NB: The CDC estimates ~600 child deaths from flu annually
cdc.gov/flu/spotlights…
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NB: The CDC estimates ~600 child deaths from flu annually
cdc.gov/flu/spotlights…
3/4
None of this is to minimise the suffering of those unfortunate few children who do become severely unwell with COVID-19, but we must be transparent that this is really very rare
This is a good thing, and we should embrace it
We must also wary of issues with the data
4/4
This is a good thing, and we should embrace it
We must also wary of issues with the data
4/4
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