The Corona Committee of the Pediatric Association, headed by Dr. Michal Stein, chair of the Department of Infectious Diseases in Children, published yesterday (Sunday) the findings described in the latest literature review on risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children and adolescents.
Another similar matter
In the IDF discussions on infant vaccines aged six months to five years against corona, it was especially recommended to vaccinate those who are in risk groups for developing severe corona. The most severe among this age group did not suffer from background illness (54% without background illness versus 46% with background illness). For this reason, the IDF recommends approving any parent who is interested in vaccinating their children.
As reported, the Ministry of Health has approved the vaccination of Corona from the age of six months. The vaccination campaign will begin in August.
A recent AAP survey, which reviewed hospitalizations of about 3,000 children and adolescents hospitalized for COVID-19 between March 2020 and May 2021, found that about 30% of them developed a serious illness (0.5% mortality). These are the groups defined by the IDF as groups at risk for severe Covid-19 disease in children:
- Infants up to one year of age
- Toddlers with a history of preterm infants
- diabetes mellitus
- Obesity – BMI percentage> 95
- Congenital immunosuppression / acquired following immunosuppressive drug therapy
- Chronic pulmonary disease, including congenital malformations and constant need for oxygen
- Chronic heart disease
- Neurological disease, including pneumonia
- Chronic kidney disease
- Dependence on feed pipe
And segmented by age –
In children younger than two years:
- Chronic pulmonary disease (aRR: 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1–4.3)
- Neurological disease (aRR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.5‒2.6)
- Cardiovascular disease (aRR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.5‒2.6)
- Prematurities (aRR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1‒2.2)
- Respiratory malformation (aRR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.1‒2.2)
In children over the age of two:
- Feed Pipe Dependence (aRR: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.5‒2.5)
- Diabetes (aRR: 1.9; 95% CI: 1.6‒2.3)
- Obesity (aRR: 1.2; 95% CI: 1.0‒1.4)
In a meta-analysis that included after screening 10 articles, the following risk factors for serious morbidity among hospitalized children and adolescents were identified:
- Newborns (RR, 2.69; 95% CI, 1.83–3.97)
- Infancy Infants (RR, 2.00; 95% CI, 1.63–2.46)
- Diabetes (RR, 2.26; 95% CI, 1.95–2.62)
- Obesity (RR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.24–1.64)
- Chronic lung disease (RR, 2.62; 95% CI, 1.71–4.00)
- Chronic heart disease (RR, 1.82; 95% CI, 1.58–2.09)
- Neurological disease (RR, 1.18; 95% CI, 1.05–1.33)
- Immunosuppression (RR, 1.44; 95% CI, 1.01–2.04