The American Academy Of Pediatrics estimates that more than 4.3 million children have been infected with the new coronavirus since the first outbreak in Wuhan. Many children have also lost a primary caretaker due to the virus. Although other seasonal infections worry paediatricians, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is the one that worries them the most.
Health Providers are worried that some underestimate the gravity and dangers of the coronavirus
Dr Tori Darville is the chief of pediatric infectious disease at the University of North Carolina Children’s Research Institute. For many years, she has been treating children from various infections, including influenza. In a recent article, Darville mentions that none of the previous infections had caused so much damage as the SARS-CoV-2 virus has. The number of severely ill children with coronavirus she has treated so far (from 2019 up to now) is about the same amount of severely ill children with flu she has been treating for the past three decades.
The flu and Covid are not that similar
Although some people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus have experienced flu-like symptoms such as cough, nasal congestion and fever, doctors explain that the two infections are different. To start with, scientists have been studying the Covid-19 virus for only two years, while the flu has been studied for many more. When it comes to children, there are several flu shots available for them, both intranasal and through arm injection. In many countries, the available Covid-19 vaccine has only been approved for children 12 or older.
The Delta variant has been the dominant strain in the U.S since last month, and doctors have noticed that more children are admitted to hospitals compared to any other past moment of this pandemic. The unpredictability of the different coronavirus strains and the lack of approved vaccines make the doctors’ jobs much more difficult, and they urge everyone to take the situation seriously.
