Just like adults, children can experience long COVID.
Even though kids experience long COVID too, there are few studies that include them.
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Have kids been included in any studies?
Many of the studies on long COVID do not include children, even globally. The studies that have included this group, were done in hospitals. Additional details are available here.
Studies in the U.K. have gathered estimates for various ages groups in their country:
- 44,000 2- to 11-year-olds
- 73,000 12- to 16-year-olds
Although the numbers are subject to uncertainties, they still show the urgent need for more research in these age groups.
Can you catch COVID-19 more than once?
Does that mean there is no treatment?
Potential treatments for long COVID are underway. However, none of them are intended for teenagers or children.
Adults being studied first is a common patten in medical science. This comes as a safety precaution. It is safer for therapies to be tested on adults first.
Treating long COVID in children has some added difficulty. To treat a child, the provider must have gotten informed consent from the legal guardian.
Although testing and research for children may pose challenges, it is still important these age groups aren’t forgotten.
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