Open AccessImpacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Populations
Author(s) -
Sarah Luciw
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
uwomj/medical journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2560-8274
pISSN - 0042-0336
DOI - 10.5206/uwomj.v89is1.10831
Subject(s) - medicine , asymptomatic , pandemic , public health , transmission (telecommunications) , disease , pediatrics , vaccination , incidence (geometry) , covid-19 , population , asymptomatic carrier , intensive care medicine , environmental health , immunology , infectious disease (medical specialty) , pathology , physics , optics , electrical engineering , engineering
Most pediatric cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are asymptomatic or mild in disease severity, with few deaths reported worldwide. The most commonly reported symptoms in children include fever and cough. A notable portion of infected pediatric patients are asymptomatic in clinical presentation, and children may therefore significantly contribute to overall disease transmission rates as asymptomatic carriers – an important public health consideration as schools and other public spaces are reopened. Additionally, there has been an increased incidence of reports of pediatric chilblain-like lesions and of a newly emerging inflammatory condition, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), both of which are temporally associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in efforts to limit disease transmission, strict public health measures have been implemented globally, including school closures and stay-at-home orders, which may have had inadvertent negative effects on the pediatric population, including decreased emergency department utilization, decreased routine vaccination administration, and adverse impacts on mental health.