KIDS AND COVID
I’m perplexed about the continuous questioning and concern about kids and Covid transmission.
While it is clear that kids can get Covid-19 and transmit it to others, the degree to which they are infectious is not well established, primarily because most young kids have been out of circulation. I have had many patients experience fewer throat and sinus infections than typical because of mask wearing and distancing. Makes sense.
What also makes sense is to assume they ARE infectious and, potentially, even more so because they are less likely to have symptoms. They can be “silent spreaders”. We know that when little kids get colds, most of the family follows suit. The same would make sense for Covid-19.
We know that kids can have up to 100x the amount of viral load than adults. They are more clingy and are not capable of practicing proper hygiene measures.
Some kids do suffer serious reactions and there have been many deaths in the pediatric population. Thankfully, kids get the disease and suffer symptoms and side effects less often than adults, for a variety of reasons:
- Fewer ACE2 receptors (the ones the virus attaches to).
- They have healthier immune systems, partly because they are healthier in general and partly because their immune system is primed by their other vaccinations.
- They are on fewer medications, some of which impair immune function.
- Previous colds, some of which were undoubtedly from other more innocuous coronaviruses, provide some protection.
- Factors as yet unknown.
Ultimately, how infectious they are compared with adults is irrelevant. They can catch Covid-19, they ARE infectious, so you need to be careful to protect them and protect those they come into contact with. In my practice, I assume everyone has Covid, along with many other infectious diseases like hepatitis and HIV. I wear a mask all the time, distance as much as possible, try to keep small talk to a minimum, an admittedly very difficult thing to do for me as well as the elderly patients who have cooped up for months, and I wash my hands and use sanitizer all the time.
That’s about the best we can do, which unfortunately, is not the attitude many in the US subscribe to. I was walking in public last weekend and our distancing, mask-wearing group got such a glare from someone in line for ice cream. He was maskless, wearing a T-Shirt with an elephant draped in the US flag. He looked so angry. It was creepy.
As we learn more and more about the disease, how it transmits, how it progresses and what kind of long-term side effects people can have, it is clear that you do not want to contract this disease. You MUST do the basics:
WEAR A MASK.
DISTANCE.
WASH YOUR HANDS.
DON’T TOUCH YOUR FACE.
VENTILATE.
GET HEALTHY.
VACCINATE.
Stay safe and be well.
AC 😎✌️🌱❤🐖🏃🏻🧘🏻♂️🌎😷