COVID-19

The covid-19 pandemic caused panic across the world resulting in a global lockdown. Panic-induced individuals looked for ways to stay safe and to reach protection in some form. The death toll and the cases around the world caused stress and depression which raised many questions. While the front-line workers were locked up in hospitals trying to save lives while putting themselves at risk, some labeled the virus as a conspiracy against humanity.

Of course, time proved that the virus was real and affecting people of all ages, especially those with an ailing medical illness. People in the upper age bracket were and are at a higher risk of contracting the virus. In December 2020, after a year of the global pandemic, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) started to issue different covid-19 vaccines.

Herd Immunity

Like every country, the United States has been working tirelessly to vaccinate a large percentage of the population soon. The aim is to reach herd immunity which means that more people will become immune to the disease. Some recent data has shown that reaching the goal is a bigger challenge than originally imagined.

The importance of getting a covid-19 vaccine is high to survive the severity levels of the disease. It provides the first line of protection and acts as a defense mechanism in case an individual contracts the virus. However, since the vaccines were created within a year and hospitals started to administer them immediately, people developed trust issues.

The battle between vaccines and conspiracy theories continues while the virus takes away millions of lives around the world. Young children are not safe either but the problem is that they cannot get vaccinated. All approved vaccines have been declared unsuitable for people younger than 18 years of age.

The Trends

In July 2021, according to a report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 56.4% of the US population got their first dose of the covid-19 vaccine. Meanwhile, about 48.8% of the total population was fully vaccinated.

According to the associate professor of pediatrics and internal medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine, Dr. John S. Schieffelin, the number of vaccinations administered among all age groups is slowing down. On the other hand, the number of covid-19 positive cases is increasing rapidly across 49 different states of the United States. The number of vaccinated individuals as compared to infected ones varies dramatically.

According to Dr. Schieffelin, these trends are dangerous and especially high among young adults. Additionally, he also says that these trends will most likely trigger more positive cases among younger children soon.

Covid-19 & Young Children

Since the cases are increasing in larger children population, the world is heading towards higher complications caused by covid-19. The virus, when it enters the system of young children, may cause severe conditions. One such condition caused in children due to covid-19 is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C).

When a child has MIS-C, several parts of the body may experience inflammation like the lungs, skin, eyes, kidneys, heart, brain, and gastrointestinal organs. In the case of children who have a medical history of such conditions are at a higher risk of experiencing severe conditions. These may accelerate when it comes to covid-19.

Additionally, children who have cancer, severe obesity, and heart or lung disease are the most vulnerable to contracting the virus and being adversely affected by it. However, the exact risk factors of MIS-C are still unclear and any child who contracts the virus may be affected.

Covid-19 Symptoms in Young Children

Dr. Schieffelin also said that although the most common symptoms of covid-19 are not as common among children as adults, it does affect them the same way. He spoke about a recent study conducted in Switzerland that showed about four percent of those children who were tested positive for covid-19 have symptoms that lasted over twelve weeks.

These symptoms that last this long in children can pose a serious threat to their health since young children have weaker immunities. Most of the symptoms in children included issues with a concentration in studies and extreme tiredness. Additionally, these children had a higher need for sleep.

The risk of losing their lives due to the virus is much higher in children. According to the chair of the American College of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, the covid-19 vaccine task force head Dr. Niraj Patel states that all the 0.26 percent of covid-19 deaths in the United States have been children.

While the percentage looks negligible, the numbers have certainly been high. The total number of covid-19 positive cases has been 4,087,916 and the total number of deaths has been 10,628. Additionally, Dr. Patel also shared that the number of covid-19 cases has been rising in the pediatric department.

Covid-19 Variants

The most alarming and dangerous thing about covid-19 is that it is a mutating virus that adapts itself to its surroundings. This puts children in even more dangerous than anything else. By the time, new variants come into existence, children will not be vaccinated either due to time constraints or the choice of parents.

Many adults do not believe in getting vaccinated themselves, they would not choose to vaccinate their children. The only preventative method, for the time being, is strictly following the COVID-19 guidelines and training young children to do the same.

However, Dr. Schieffelin explained that viruses transmit from one person to another and replicate. Hence, this is how all kinds of viruses mutate and create variants. Usually, the mutations meet a dead-end that will not compete with what is already present in the population. The risk, however, of more variants rising among the populations is still there.

Medical Innovations

The advancements in medical technology have helped identify the virus in the body and differentiate it from other diseases. Diagnostic medical imaging is one of the things used for identifying covid19 in adults and children alike. To see how far a case of pneumonia has gone and turned into a covid-19 case is only possible with medical imaging. This is done by looking at the conditions of the lungs of the affected individual.

If you feel that you or a loved one in your family, especially children have the symptoms, consider contacting a diagnostic imaging network. Diagnostic imaging can help you understand how serious the condition is and how to get treated in time.

How Vaccinated Adults Protect Young Children

Keeping in mind all the risks monitored ever since the outbreak of the virus adults are prone to transmit the virus to children. Even though the risks are lower as compared to adults, they are present. If the number of positive covid-19 cases increases, the potential risk of children getting the virus is high.

The rising numbers are alarming but preventive measures are possible. Keeping in mind those individuals who are immunocompromised in all age groups depend on those around them for protection. When the surrounding adults are vaccinated, those who cannot get the vaccine are automatically protected given that they follow all covid-19 guidelines.

As the world saw in March 2020, an increased number of cases in any country poses a threat to the health system. When hospitals are overloaded, there will be an increase in public pressure to wear masks and the closure of public places and schools.

The closure of schools had a significant adverse impact on children but if the parents and teachers do not feel safe, the children will not either. Therefore, vaccination is an important part of combating the virus and helps in putting an end to the spread of the deadly virus.