Since December, a new strain of the SARS CoV-2 coronavirus that has appeared in the United Kingdom has caused the epidemic to increase very rapidly across the Channel. European health authorities are worried. First, because the virus is spreading at a greater speed, but also because it would seem to infect more children than the Covid-19. According to the latest report from Nervtag (UK advisory group on emerging respiratory viruses) three independent studies carried out by the University of Edinburgh, Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, confirm the high contagiousness of the mutation of the virus. The report also mentions that it may well be more infectious among the under-15 population. A hypothesis which was supported by Laura Duffel, head nurse of King's College Hospital in London. In an interview with BBC radio, she claims the explosion in the number of admissions of children to her facility: "They were only very little affected in the first wave, we now have a whole hospital ward full of children here", she explains.
?️ “It was minimally affecting children in the first wave … we now have a whole ward of children here.” Laura Duffel, a matron in a London Hospital, tells Adrian Chiles about the Covid situation in hospitals. ? @BBCSounds pic.twitter.com/2BwYOJvov5
– BBC Radio 5 Live (@ bbc5live) January 1, 2021
Information denied by the professional body of pediatricians in the United Kingdom
With the news going viral, the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health, the UK's professional body for pediatricians, issued a statement on January 2, 2021 to deny the claim: "Children's hospital wards are generally full in winter. At the moment we are not seeing significant pressure from COVID-19 in pediatrics across the UK.", reassures the organization, "the new variant appears to affect all ages and so far we do not see any greater severity in children and youth". A statement confirmed by official figures from Public Health England (the equivalent of Santé Publique France) which show that hospital admissions among children did not significantly increase during the month of December. With more than 57,000 daily cases recorded and more than 600 deaths in 24 hours according to the latest report, Boris Johnson, the British Prime Minister, is considering stricter health restrictions, including the closure of schools at stake. In France, no increase no cases in children have been reported.
Ophelia Manya