{"id":1524,"date":"2021-08-03T09:22:12","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T13:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/?p=1524"},"modified":"2021-08-03T09:22:12","modified_gmt":"2021-08-03T13:22:12","slug":"what-about-delta-variant-and-children-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/?p=1524","title":{"rendered":"What about Delta variant and children?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Question:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>I\u2019m hearing conflicting information about the severity of COVID from Delta vs previous variants in children. Can you illuminate me with the latest studies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Answer:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0You&#8217;re hearing conflicting information because we really don&#8217;t have a solid handle yet on whether Delta is more severe in children.\u00a0 Personally, I think it&#8217;s the uncertainty that makes parenting all the more challenging these days.\u00a0 Here are a few things that we do know:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Delta is far&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/khub.net\/documents\/135939561\/405676950\/Increased+Household+Transmission+of+COVID-19+Cases+-+national+case+study.pdf\/7f7764fb-ecb0-da31-77b3-b1a8ef7be9aa\">more transmissible<\/a>&nbsp;than previous variants (potentially as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/30\/health\/covid-cdc-delta-masks.html\">transmissible as chickenpox<\/a>,&nbsp;<strong>Figure 1<\/strong>), which means that if an unvaccinated child is exposed to Delta, they are more likely to contract it.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>When it comes to hospitalizations, there is limited evidence&#8211; not specific to children&#8211; that Delta may be associated with increased hospital admissions (see:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.thelancet.com\/journals\/lancet\/article\/PIIS0140-6736(21)01358-1\/fulltext\">study from Scotland<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/993879\/Variants_of_Concern_VOC_Technical_Briefing_15.pdf\">study from England<\/a>), however this evidence is quite weak and not enough&nbsp;to draw conclusions (<strong>Figure 2<\/strong>).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><li>Vaccines remain&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.medrxiv.org\/content\/10.1101\/2021.07.28.21261295v1\">extremely effective<\/a>&nbsp;at reducing the&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nejm.org\/doi\/full\/10.1056\/NEJMoa2108891\">risk of infection<\/a>&nbsp;and preventing severe outcomes.&nbsp; With children under age 12 (<a href=\"https:\/\/services.aap.org\/en\/pages\/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections\/children-and-covid-19-vaccination-trends\/\">14.5% of the US population<\/a>) not yet eligible for vaccination, we have a large population at risk of infection.&nbsp; Additionally, many children ages 12-17 remain unvaccinated despite the protection it affords.&nbsp; The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/services.aap.org\/en\/pages\/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections\/children-and-covid-19-vaccination-trends\/\">American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>&nbsp;reports, as of July 28th, &#8220;in 4 states, over 60% of children (age 12-17) have received at least 1 dose, and in 14 states, 30% or fewer have received 1 dose.&#8221;<\/li><li>Children&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-01935-7\">can get long COVID too<\/a>, but we still don&#8217;t know how frequently it occurs, how severe it is, and whether the Delta variant would influence long COVID incidence\/experience.<\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/services.aap.org\/en\/pages\/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections\/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report\/\">Cases are increasing<\/a>&nbsp;across the country, including in children&nbsp;<strong>(Figure 3<\/strong>), but&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aappublications.org\/sites\/default\/files\/additional_assets\/aap_files\/AAPSummary-COVID-19-Pediatric-Research-Highlights-7.14.20.pdf\">COVID hospitalization rates among children are much lower<\/a>&nbsp;than the general population and COVID deaths among children are relatively rare&#8211;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/covid.cdc.gov\/covid-data-tracker\/#demographics\">0.1% of all deaths reported to CDC<\/a>&nbsp;(526 deaths of 503,506 total deaths)&#8211; and tragic.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Figure 1. Delta Variant as Transmissible as Chicken Pox\u00a0<\/strong>(from<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/30\/health\/covid-cdc-delta-masks.html\">\u00a0<\/a><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/07\/30\/health\/covid-cdc-delta-masks.html\">NY Times<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>based on CDC internal report)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"497\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?resize=723%2C497&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1525\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?resize=1024%2C704&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?resize=300%2C206&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?resize=768%2C528&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?w=1048&amp;ssl=1 1048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Figure 2. July 8 Delta Variant Risk Assessment\u00a0<\/strong>(from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/1000661\/8_July_2021_Risk_assessment_for_SARS-CoV-2_variant_DELTA_02.00-1.pdf\">Public Health England<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"468\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-2.png?resize=723%2C468&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-2.png?resize=1024%2C663&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-2.png?resize=300%2C194&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-2.png?resize=768%2C497&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-2.png?w=1112&amp;ssl=1 1112w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Figure 3. Trends in Cases among children in the US\u00a0<\/strong>(from\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/downloads.aap.org\/AAP\/PDF\/AAP%20and%20CHA%20-%20Children%20and%20COVID-19%20State%20Data%20Report%207.29%20FINAL.pdf\">American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=723%2C407&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1527\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=1536%2C863&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?resize=2048%2C1151&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-3.png?w=1446&amp;ssl=1 1446w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Question:\u00a0I\u2019m hearing conflicting information about the severity of COVID from Delta vs previous variants in children. Can you illuminate me with the latest studies? Answer:\u00a0You&#8217;re hearing conflicting information because we really don&#8217;t have a solid handle yet on whether Delta is more severe in children.\u00a0 Personally, I think it&#8217;s the uncertainty that makes parenting all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[85,40,22,60,47,46,64],"tags":[209],"class_list":["post-1524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-children","category-disease-severity","category-mortality","category-risk","category-states","category-trends","category-vaccines","tag-delta","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/covidqanda.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/image-1.png?fit=1048%2C720&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1524"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1528,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions\/1528"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/covidqanda.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}