Thread by @ZdenekVrozina

This is the strongest evidence yet that ignoring the chronic impacts of COVID in children carries population-level consequences.
A massive Lancet Infect Dis study of >465,000 kids shows:
Reinfections double the risk of long COVID.🧵

After the first infection: about 903 cases of long COVID per million children (within 6 months).
After the second infection: ~1884 cases per million.
That’s more than double the risk (RR = 2.08).

And it’s not just fatigue. Reinfection raised risks across many systems-
myocarditis (RR 3.6),
arrhythmias,
blood clots
kidney injury,
electrolyte issues,
liver enzyme spikes
brain fog, headaches, POTS
anxiety, depression, exhaustion

Key points.
This happened even when the initial infection was mild.
It was seen in both vaccinated and unvaccinated kids.
The biggest increases were in ages 5–11 and 12–20.

Why does this happen?
Each infection brings biological stress - inflammation, immune disruption, vascular strain.
The body may not fully recover before the next hit.
Risks appear to stack up with every reinfection.

This study confirms: long COVID in kids is real.
It’s a multisystem condition - heart, brain, blood vessels, kidneys, liver…
It’s not just in their heads. There’s a clear biological basis

What does it mean?
Reinfections aren’t harmless. Each one adds long-term risk!
Vaccination still matters - it lowers infection risk, which lowers reinfection risk.
Kids need follow-up care after COVID - fatigue, chest pain, cognitive issues may be long COVID.

The bigger picture:
Ignoring long COVID in kids means carrying a huge health burden into the future.
Each wave, each reinfection adds to the risk for an entire generation.

Sum:
Risk of long COVID more than doubles after a second infection.
Effects span multiple organ systems.
Preventing reinfections matters - it protects kids not just in the short term, but for years ahead.

This is the strongest evidence to date that ignoring the chronic impacts of COVID in children has population-level consequences.
Every reinfection adds risk.
Every ignored case adds burden.
What looks mild today may echo across an entire generation tomorrow.

Public health strategy has treated COVID in children as mild and short-lived.
This study shows the opposite - reinfections carry measurable, cumulative risks.
Downplaying this is not just a mistake.
It looks increasingly like gross negligence - with consequences for an entire generation. @szupraha @ZdravkoOnline @strakovka @adamvojtech86 @RobertPlaga

Zhang at al., Long COVID associated with SARS-CoV-2 reinfection among children and adolescents in the omicron era (RECOVER-EHR): a retrospective cohort study. thelancet.com/journals/lanin…

This isn’t just theory anymore - it’s front-page news.
Even The New York Times has started covering this study.
Ignoring the chronic impacts of COVID in children is not just short-sighted. @zdravydenik @SeznamZpravy @hospodarky @novinkycz nytimes.com/2025/09/30/hea…