Long COVID in Children: Urgent need to increase vaccination coverage
Research indicates that long COVID can manifest in children as multisystem inflammatory syndrome or as persistent symptoms, impacting their school performance.
Specialists highlight the importance of vaccination to reduce these risks.
With 25% of children infected with COVID-19 at risk of developing long-term sequelae, experts emphasize the urgency of increasing childhood vaccination coverage, especially given the global decline in immunization.
(Oct/1/2024 – Panama24Web Hours) Panama.- The COVID-19 pandemic left many lessons learned, one of them is that, months after the acute infection, some patients may present symptoms that can last weeks, months and even years. This persistent condition is known as long COVID, referring to the post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection.1; and it is estimated that at least 65 million people in the world suffer from it.2.
Research and publications related to consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 virus they had focused on the impact of the infection on adults; to those who have had cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, respiratory, systemic, neuropsychiatric problems, or effects on their musculoskeletal system or genitourinary system.3
“People who experience after-effects of COVID-19 may have difficulty thinking or concentrating, fatigue, headache, changes in menstruation, muscle pain, difficulty breathing and a host of symptoms that can last weeks, months or years,” assured the Asofarma vaccine medical manager, Yamile Sandoval.
And the pediatric population? Recently published studies estimate that 25% of children infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus could develop long COVID4.
In children, the virus can manifest either as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in the acute phase or as long COVID syndrome, highlights a scientific report in the scientific journal Nature.5 The first is related to a condition in which different parts of the body become inflamed, and the second, to a multisystem condition that persists, months and even years, after having been infected by the virus.
Either of these two scenarios can occur in pediatric patients who contracted the SARS-CoV-2 virus and had symptoms, as well as in those who did not have symptoms during the illness.6
In the case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome that appears after the disease, children present symptoms such as fever, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, skin rash, dizziness. There are some warning signs that there is an emergency, such as: trouble staying awake or waking up, difficulty breathing, new confusion, abdominal pain, or having gray or blue skin, lips, or nail beds.7
“Long COVID is a condition that impacts people’s daily lives; and in the case of children and adolescents, it can have a significant effect on their school performance. “Symptoms can range from fatigue, sleep problems to cognitive alterations that cause difficulty concentrating and memory loss, for example,” detailed the Dr. Sandoval.
Attention and awareness
As scientists continue to make discoveries that provide greater clarity on the impact of long COVID on different age groups; Some emphasize the potential risk of developing a long-lasting effect in the event of a new infection, particularly when global immunization coverage has fallen.8 A publication from The Lancet highlights that recent studies in the United States show a significant role for vaccination in reducing the risk of persistent COVID in children9.
Recently the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that global childhood immunization coverage had stagnated in 2023, and that there would be 2.7 million children unvaccinated or not fully vaccinated worldwide.10
This decrease in immunization coverage brings challenges for protection against viruses such as measles, influenza, and SARS-CoV-2, among others.
“It is important that we remember that, as is done every year with influenza, the population must be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves from the variants of the virus that are circulating,” reiterated the medical manager of Asofarma.
References
