COVID and Kids

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Anchor lead: Emerging data suggest that COVID-19 infection is just as common in kids as in other age groups, Elizabeth Tracey reports

Kids and younger people in general seem to succumb to COVID-19 infection much less often than older people and those with other medical conditions, with a recent household study suggesting that parents usually brought the infection home. Yet Aaron Milstone, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Johns Hopkins, says observational studies are bearing fruit.

Milstone: As schools are starting to require testing before students return for sports they’re finding kids that are positive, that are asymptomatic, and we know that there are kids going to the beach and coming back that are positive. We have kids in the hospital that are positive. We know that kids have this virus. And we know that anyone who has this virus is at risk of spreading. So I would really caution people from thinking that kids are not playing a role in helping spread this virus. We can prepare for the fact that when schools go back that kids will play a big role in spreading.   :34

At Johns Hopkins, I’m Elizabeth Tracey.