Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine analyzed the risk factors for serious health outcomes in kids who had COVID-19. They found that children up to age 18 who had tested positive for COVID-19 were at low risk for severe health problems. The study was based on pediatric data analyzed up to June 2021, before the delta and omicron variants took hold.
We know that omicron is causing far more children to become ill with COVID-19 than at any other time in the pandemic and, because of this increase in infections, hospitalizations for kids who are sick from COVID-19 have spiked…
Fahd A. Ahmad, MD, associate professor of pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, Washington University
Similar to previous COVID-19 studies focused on children, the researchers found that the children most at risk for severe outcomes were preteens and teens, as well as those with pre-existing chronic conditions, such as diabetes and cancer. Children who sought physician care earlier during the course of their infections also were at a reduced risk of severe outcomes.