The risk of long-term Covid-19 was greater in unvaccinated children, obese children and those who had been more seriously ill and had needed hospitalization
Children who have not been vaccinated against the coronavirus face an increased risk, if they get sick because of it, of showing symptoms of the so-called long-term Covid-19, regardless of how severe their initial infection was, according to a new American scientific study .
The research confirmed that, relative to adults, all individual age groups of children and adolescents have a lower risk of prolonged Covid-19, but not non-existent.
The researchers, led by Dr Sara Mesiah of the University of Texas, who made the relevant publication in the pediatric journal “The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal”analyzed data on 1,813 children infected with coronavirus between October 2020 and May 2022, during the waves of the Delta and Omicron variants.
Of these children, 4.5% had symptoms (loss of smell/taste, cough, shortness of breath) lasting four to twelve weeks, and 3.3% for even longer. The risk of long-term Covid-19 was greater in unvaccinated children, obese children and those who had been more seriously ill and needed hospitalisation. However, most (93%) with long-term Covid-19 had mild to moderate initial infection.
“There is a perception that someone must have been hospitalized before to develop long-term Covid-19, but this does not agree with our findings. I encourage parents to continue to take precautions and vaccinate their children against Covid-19 because we know this will reduce the risk of infection and long-term Covid-19said Dr. Mesaia, according to the Reuters agency.
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