When it comes to coronavirus, some studies imply that adults are in a worse boat and they are more worrisome than the younger population. The enigma of the coronavirus is that most studies imply that children will be less affected than adults, and the young ones will not be infected easily.
Case in point, there is little incidence of having a child less than 10 years old capable of passing the COVID-19 to adults.
Schools will be opening soon, and this is of grave concern as many children will soon be trooping back to school or are at school already all over Europe. All of them are coming back to school on different dates, depending on their country. To adjust, most of these schools will have reduced classes, fewer school days, with extra handwashing for insurance.
Will school be a dangerous proposition to parents?
The opening of schools will benefit children, and parents can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that their education will be normalized. Scientists worry that even if children don't infect as much, they will be exposed to more adults, maybe setting up a new chain of infections. More data is needed to come up with a better plan.
Children are able to catch and share germs easily, that ranges from common colds and influenza, but at times they don't feel sickened.
According to researchers in Iceland, they have no reported infections in 848 children that are under 10 years old, but with older than 10, there was 1% infection. In the US, there was about 1.7% of positive cases were under 18.
Though in Shenzen, China it was found out that children can be infected too. Eckerle warned the data was not realistic, and there should be a study made to check the data.
Some contradictions
In some cases, children who are sick with COVID-19 will be just as infectious as adults. Viral RNA taken from infected children are the same as adults. RNA does not necessarily mean you can transmit the virus, but it might be harmless viral remnants only.
According to Forbes, "Eckerle's team reported that 12 out of 23 children sick with COVID-19 had a virus in their nose or throat able to attack and infect human cells, a rate similar to adults."
In one instance, a 6-month-old baby in Singapore was infected with no symptoms present. This child's coronavirus was equal to an adults' level as well.
Researchers of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) examined 54 homes with 154 adults and 116 kids at 16 or younger. It was noted by RIVM epidemiologist Susan van den Hof that of all the 43 infected children and teens, they did not transmit the COVID-19 disease.
The RIVM study was criticized as too small and not statistically significant too. Van Den Hof said the data indicated that children were not infectious. All the evidence was the Dutch government needed to open schools, also allow sports to be engaged in by children next week.
Some scientists disagree and think this move is premature, because one way that cases were lessened is by keeping children at home. School opening may not be a good option to reconsider too.
No one is really sure about the coronavirus and why children are not so impacted, but for adults, the COVID-19 can kill. As of now, until we finally find a vaccine, the best we can do to keep them safe is by staying at home.
