Immune system has long-term defenses after mild COVID-19; children may be key carriers of virus variants | Reuters
▻https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/science/immune-system-has-long-term-defenses-after-mild-covid-19-children-may-be-key-2021-05-24/?taid=60ac31207e2160000118d81c
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Young children appear to be significant carriers of more contagious variants of the new coronavirus, such as the ones identified in the UK and in California, according to a new U.S. study. From March 2020 to April 2021, researchers at nine children’s hospitals tested a total of 2,119 COVID-19 patients age 18 or younger for so-called variants of concern, along with key mutations that help the variants become more contagious or hide from the patient’s immune system. “In total, we identified 560 of these important mutations, and 75% (420/560) ... were in children less than 12 years of age, the population that is currently not eligible for COVID-19 vaccines,” said Jennifer Dien Bard of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, lead author of a report posted on Monday on medRxiv ahead of peer review. The results provide “clear evidence” of the emergence of variants of concern in pediatric patients across diverse geographies and socioeconomic populations in the United States, the researchers said in their paper. They added that the results highlight the need for ongoing monitoring of pediatric populations “who will be among the last groups to receive vaccination and who are key to ending this pandemic.” (▻https://bit.ly/2RBJNWO)