Delta variant does not cause more severe cases of COVID-19 in children, says CDC-Revista Cresser

Compared to other variants, the delta variant does not cause more severe cases than covid-19 in children. On Friday (3), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released data showing that the arrival of the new form of the virus did not represent an increase in the number of serious cases among children.

The health agency has collected information from patients who have been admitted for covid-19 in 14 states across the country. The data was compared from March to June 2021 and from June to the end of July, when the delta variant became dominant in the United States.

In general, the hospitalization fee Five times as many children and adolescents aged 0 to 17 years in this period. But the proportion of critically ill children and adolescents “was similar before and after the stage when deltas were prevalent,” he says. Report.

“Although we’re seeing more cases in children and more cases overall, these studies have shown that there has been no increase in disease severity in children,” CDC director Rochelle Wallinsky said at a news conference.

The survey also showed that Vaccine protects teens from the new variant. Hospitalization rates among the population aged 12 to 17 were lower among those who had already been vaccinated. In the United States, as well as in Brazil, adolescents over 12 years of age can receive two doses of Pfizer.

“What is clear from this data is that Community immunization coverage protects our children. As the number of COVID-19 cases in the community increases, so will the number of children who get sick and need to go to the emergency room and be admitted to the hospital. We know what we need to do to protect our children: get vaccinated, wear masks and follow CDC guidelines,” Walinsky said.

variable delta and children

Although the delta variant is more transmissible than the original virus, which was discovered in Wuhan, China, its behavior does not appear to particularly affect young ones, nor is it more lethal. “There is no indication yet that it is more lethal in any age group, including children. It showed more transmissibility. The higher the transmissibility, the higher the number of cases, the higher the number of hospitalizations and deaths, but there is no specificity for this variant with children. and adolescents, nor in other groups regarding its lethality,” says doctor Marco Aurelio Palazzi Saffadi, head of the division of infectious diseases at the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics (SBP).

Pediatrician and neonatologist Dr. Nelson Douglas Eigsenbaum, member of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), notes that the delta variant is 75% more contagious than variant 1, by Wuhan, but emphasizes that there is no potential for greater or more lethal severity, In addition to good development, in general, in children. “It cannot be said that the variant affects children more. This is a misconception. What happens is that children, Since they are not vaccinated, they can be infected with all covid strains, including the delta variant.‘, he explains.

However, that doesn’t mean it’s time to let your guard down. exactly the contrary. Care in combating this – and any other variable – should be according to the experts CRESCER has heard, as always: enhanced hygiene measures, masking (which should be encouraged in children from two years of age), distance and, of course, agility in vaccination. “The method of blocking the delta variant does not change, the same procedures that we have used so far are still valid,” explains infectious disease specialist and pediatrician Renato Kfoury, head of the scientific division of immunizations at SBP.

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