Doctors Watch Warily as Severe Covid Infections Target Kids
While rare, serious illness linked to Covid-19 in children has researchers studying variants
Pediatric researchers are investigating whether Covid-19 is becoming more severe for children now that variants are causing localized flare-ups, even as U.S. cases overall decline.
By early April, the rate of Covid-19 cases in young kids and early teens began surpassing that of those 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The latest CDC data suggest the trend is continuing. At the same time, hospitalizations for children with Covid-19 aren’t falling as much as for those 18 and up. That has researchers concerned that variants may be affecting youths in new ways, including a rare inflammatory disease that has been linked to Covid-19 infection.
“The big concern is that we’ve left a whole population of children unprotected,” said Adrienne Randolph, a critical-care doctor at Boston Children’s Hospital who is leading the CDC-funded research.
Cases of the rare disease, called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, totaled more than 2,000 in February and surpassed 3,000 by April 1, according to the CDC, which will soon update its tally.