New Covid strain child fears allayed
SAY NO BIG RISE IN SEVERE CASES
PAEDIATRICIANS say they are not seeing significant pressure from coronavirus on children’s wards.
There have been concerns the new strain of Covid-19 was not only more virulent but also caused more severe symptoms in young people.
But the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) said the “overwhelming majority” of children and young people have no symptoms or a very mild illness when they get coronavirus.
Dr Damian Roland, a consultant paediatrician at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: “I think it’s important all in child health make absolutely clear we are not seeing a nationwide wave of Covid19 induced illness in children.”
RCPCH president Professor Russell Viner said while the more transmissible variant of the virus, linked to the faster spread in the south of England, appears to affect all ages, paediatricians are not seeing any greater severity in children.
He said: “Children’s wards are usually busy in winter. As of now we are not seeing significant pressure from Covid-19 in paediatrics across the UK.
“As cases in the community rise there will be a small increase in the number of children we see with Covid-19, but the overwhelming majority of children and young people have no symptoms or very mild illness only.
“The new variant appears to affect all ages and, as yet, we are not seeing any greater severity among children and young people.”
Dr Ronny Cheung, consultant paediatrician at the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London, said: “I’ve been the on-call consultant in a London children’s hospital.
“Covid is rife in hospitals, but not among children – and that is corroborated by my colleagues across London.”
Dr Liz Whittaker, consultant paediatrician at St Mary’s Hospital London, said she continues to “worry for my elders, not my kids”.
“There are lots of children with Covid positive tests but, thankfully, only small numbers with severe disease or Pims (the rare inflammatory disease associated with Covid), and these are within expected levels, given the London rates,” she said.
Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) member Dr Mike Tildesley told the BBC the evidence was “we are not getting a significant increase in cases in a primary school setting”.