It has been shown that studying long COVID-19 in children can be challenging, and this can be unnerving for a lot of parents out there. When the pandemic started, parents were likely concerned about the health of their children. They wanted to make sure that they did not contract the virus, or pass it on to a vulnerable family member.
When the pandemic started, it was thought that children were somewhat immune to the virus, and then it was found that they are at risk, but their symptoms tend to be mild when compared to adults and senior. However, long COVID-19 has proven to be a hurdle for children who are infected.
According to Medical Xpress, studying the long COVID phenomenon in children has proven to be problematic. Students at the University of Manitoba have made this discovery, and more can be read here.
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Students are saying that more studies are needed to fully understand long COVID-19 in children, but there are hurdles in getting this information. They believe that children are at a disadvantage because the vaccines rolled out later for them.
Long COVID-19 describes a condition where symptoms persist long past the person has healed from the infection. The most common symptoms of this are fatigue, shortness of breath, muscle pain and difficult concentrating.
When the students looked for studies on this in children, they only found 17 relevant articles published in medical journals.
Another reason it is not fully understood in children is because they are less likely to go to any follow-up appointments after recovering from an acute phase of the virus.
Parents think their children are fine, and they do not take them in to be seen by their medical provider. This means that they could be missing some cases in children, and not getting all the information that they need.
The students are starting their own study and review into long COVID-19 in children, and they are doing this by handing out surveys across Manitoba, and everyone is allowed to fill one out.
The survey will start in the fall, and they are hoping that this study, and the surveys will help people be able to discuss their long symptoms of the virus, specifically any children who are living in their homes and who have had a diagnosis of COVID-19. It seems like the world continues to have things to learn about the virus.
Sources: Medical Xpress, Manitoba