Study finds kids were at low risk of severe COVID early in the pandemic
Research conducted before emergence of infectious Delta variant
MONTREAL—Severe cases of COVID-19 were very rare among Canadian children during the first waves of the pandemic, according to a new study by researchers who warn the findings should not be taken as a reason not to vaccinate youth.
The study was published Monday by the Canadian Medical Association Journal. It looked at 264 reported cases of children hospitalized in Canada between March 25 and Dec. 31, 2020, before the more infectious Delta variant emerged.
Of those cases, 43 per cent had been hospitalized for another reason, such as a fracture, and it was only after they were admitted that the positive test came to light.
Nearly 34,000 Canadians of all ages were hospitalized during the same time frame.
“If you look at the numbers in total, that’s only 150 children hospitalized with COVID during the first two waves here in Canada,” said the study’s colead author, Dr. Fatima Kakkar of Montreal’s Ste-Justine Hospital.
“These are very small numbers, when you compare with what has happened in adults.”
The study was conducted before the emergence of the more infectious Delta variant, which now accounts for most COVID-19 infections in Canada.
The research also took place before COVID-19 vaccines were authorized for youth ages 12 and older. Of the cases studied, 77 involved kids ages 13 to 17.
Pfizer has said it intends to seek authorization soon for a vaccine intended for kids ages five to 11.
Researchers originally believed that children may be at higher risk for severe disease, since this is typically seen with respiratory infection in the pediatric population.
Among the 150 children admitted directly because of the coronavirus, the most common symptoms were fever (70 per cent) and cough (34 per cent).
Half had a severe form of the disease, with 21 per cent admitted to intensive care and 13 per cent needing respiratory or cardiac support.
Researchers add that more than three per cent of Canadian children — a high among all age groups in the country — have recently been shown to carry antibodies to COVID-19, indicating that they have been exposed to the virus.
But the relatively small number of pediatric admissions shows that children had less severe infections than adults, even though they were potentially infected more often, Kakkar said.
Overall, 39 per cent of children and youth hospitalized for COVID-19 had at least one comorbidity and those with severe disease were more likely to have an underlying health condition including obesity, neurological or respiratory issues.
Deaths of children infected with COVID-19 were also very rare, confirming the findings of other studies.
But even with the encouraging conclusions, parents should not take from it a false sense of security and not vaccinate their child, Kakkar said, given children in good health also ended up in hospital.