In the United States, a recent study shows that the coronavirus spares children but not adolescents.
According to a study by the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control in the United States, the virus has very little impact on children, while adolescents are twice as likely to be infected.
Children spared
The United States has a fairly substantial record. In fact, the Centers for the Prevention and Control of Disease has counted more than 277,285 contaminations in children aged 5 to 17 since March.
According to a study by health authorities, children are at low risk of infection and are most often asymptomatic.
However, the risk of infection changes with age, and adolescents aged 12 to 17 are more likely to contract the virus than children aged 5 to 12.
Several scientists had already shown that children and adolescents are very rare cases and present fewer symptoms than the rest of the population. In addition, people over the age of 65 are at greater risk and have a severe form of the disease.
Adolescents more likely to be infected
How to explain this difference? The American study explains that adolescents aged 12 to 17 are at greater risk of being infected (average weekly index of 37 cases per 100,000 children) than children aged 5 to 12 (average weekly index of 19 cases per 100,000 children). ).
According to US researchers, 58% reported a symptom, 5% reported no symptoms, and symptom information was missing for 37% of them. In the end, 3,240 infected children were hospitalized.
Although scientific debates continue over the effect of the virus on younger people, another study published by the journal Jama Pediatrics concludes that children and adolescents under 20 were 44% less likely to be infected.
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