At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a general perception that children and adolescents were much less likely to contract COVID-19 than adults. It was fed by early data from around the world that found very low rates of COVID in adolescents (defined as ages 10–19 years) and young people (15–24 years). But the data was mixed and some questioned its validity.
New research highlights the risk of COVID in adolescents. Image credit: University of Toro
Now, new research published this week at JAMA Open has found that teens and young people in the United States had a relatively higher risk of contracting COVID than older adults in the fall of 2020, before vaccines became available.
The study, conducted by researchers at Toro University and its affiliated New York Medical College, found that in 16 of the 19 states examined, the infection rate was significantly higher in adolescents and young people than in adults. over 65 and in some cases was twice as tall.
The researchers wanted to address some of the shortcomings of older studies, for example, some were conducted while schools were still closed, when adolescents and young people had probably reduced exposure to the virus compared to adults. In addition, there was a bias against testing young people at the onset of the pandemic because of the perception that they were not catching it, so the data may have underreported infection rates.
This study analyzed data from states that had an increase in the original strain of SARS-CoV-2 (a 75% increase in cases) in the fall of 2020, before vaccines became available. “The fact that vaccines were not yet available is important because it means the findings could not be attributed to the effects of vaccination,” said Dr. Barbara Rumain, an associate professor at Touro University and corresponding author of the study.
“Higher rates are likely due to differences in social behavior such as lack of masking and lack of social distancing in adolescents and young adults,” Rumain continued. On the other hand, older adults probably felt vulnerable and adhered to masking and social distancing guidelines.
The authors believe that the risk in young people may be even greater than reported here. This is because adolescents and young people are less likely to show symptoms and get tested, leading to an insufficient report of COVID in these age groups.
On May 19, 2020, the American Academy of Pediatrics reported that there were 13,253,639 cases of COVID in children under 18 and at least 1,032 deaths.
Contrary to popular perception, adolescents are more likely to contract COVID than older adults. And while infections could be milder in teens, having long COVID is a real possibility. “
Dr. Barbara Rumain, Associate Professor, University of Toro
The authors believe that this information can inform decision-making at the personal and state level. For example, the Florida Department of Health recommended vaccination in children ages 5 to 17, which according to the authors, appeared to go against the data in this study and the documented number of deaths in children (1000+). . According to a meta-analysis published in the journal Nature, the prevalence of long-term COVID-19 in children up to 18 years of age is 25%. The greater the number of infections to begin with, the greater the number that will end up as COVID.
In addition, the increased risk of young people, probably due to higher levels of socialization, can inform school policies and personal choices of wearing masks.
The authors recommended that efforts should be made to reduce youth exposure, with masking and social distancing in schools and other social settings. They also recommended more public health messages aimed at young people.
“People, especially teenagers, have to wear masks and social distance,” Rumain says. “The pandemic is not over.”
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Magazine reference:
Schneiderman, M., et al. (2022) Incidence and relative risk of COVID-19 in adolescents and young adults compared to adults over 19 U.S. states, fall 2020. JAMA Network Open. doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.22126.