As with Active COVID-19, Children Are NOT Immune to Long-term Symptoms Post Infection

It took a while for the general public—and even some clinicians—to accept that COVID-19 really is dangerous for children. While it’s true that fewer children died or experienced severe disease compared with adults, it’s now been shown that there is some degree of risk. And, of course, there’s always the danger that a child can infect an older person who is at great risk for a poor outcome. Likewise, it’s important to know that children, like adults, can suffer symptoms of COVID-19 long after the disease itself has run its course. An article just published by JAMA Network confirms that children can experience SARS-CoV-2 postviral syndromes, though the authors acknowledge that it’s unclear to what extent they’re likely to be affected. A study conducted in 55 randomly selected schools in Switzerland revealed that 4% of seropositive children reported at least one symptoms of COVID-19 lasting beyond 12 weeks post infection, with a low prevalence of persistent symptoms 6 months later. The most common was tiredness, which was experienced by 3% of the subjects, followed by difficulty concentrating (2%) and increased need for sleep (2%). None required hospitalization. While awareness of persistent symptoms does not negate the need for retesting, it may reassure anxious parents to know that that complaints do not necessary equate to further threat from COVID-19.