The Children's Hospital Zurich and the Cantonal Hospital Winterthur have recently started offering Long COVID consultation hours for children (see the detailed information in the Directory). Andreas Jung, the chief doctor of pediatric pulmonology in Winterthur, says: "We have seen more referrals in connection with COVID-19 in recent weeks, especially in pulmonology and cardiology." It is not yet possible to estimate the magnitude of Long COVID in children, but the situation is to be monitored. "Our long COVID consultation hours for children are brand new and interdisciplinary. At the moment, the main thing is to set uniform standards for the examinations" says the pulmonologist at the Winterthur Cantonal Hospital.
Extent still unclear
Mattia's story also shows it: Children also suffer from Long COVID. However, so far there are no official figures or estimates in Switzerland about how many children and young people suffer from long-term symptoms after a COVID-19 infection.
In children it was assumed that they are less likely to become infected with the virus, that they would transmit it less, and that they would have had to deal with severe symptoms much less often. As far as the number of infections is concerned, data from the University Hospital in Geneva show that children from the age of six have a similarly high infection rate as adults before retirement age, i.e. around 10% in the first wave and just under 25% in the second wave.
Sweden: Over 200 cases
At the end of 2020, a Swedish paediatrician published a case report on five Swedish children in which he described that children also suffer from long-term symptoms.
In Switzerland there are no estimates of how many children suffer from Long COVID.
The children they studied still had symptoms such as tiredness, shortness of breath, palpitations, chest pain, headache, muscle weakness, and difficulty concentrating, six to eight months after their clinical diagnosis. Even if the situation improved for some, none of them could fully return to school.
None of the children was hospitalized at the time of diagnosis, with one subsequently having to be hospitalized with an inflammation of the myocardium. In February 2021, over 200 cases of Long COVID in children were reported in Sweden.
Great Britain: over 10% of infected children affected
The UK Statistical Office estimated in January 2021 that around 13% -15% of children who contracted COVID-19 had symptoms below for more than five weeks. According to this official estimate, 12.9% of UK children aged 2 to 11 and 14.5% of children aged 12 to 16 still experience symptoms such as tiredness, pain, shortness of breath or gastrointestinal discomfort five weeks after being infected.
Many of those affected can no longer cope with their everyday lives as they were before the illness.
UK advocacy group Long Covid Kids says it currently has data on over 2’100 children in England.
Italy: the need to protect children
A current preprint of a study that has yet to be peer reviewed shows an even larger proportion. Researchers in Italy looked at persistent symptoms in children previously diagnosed with COVID-19. More than half of the patients reported at least one symptom 17 weeks after infection, with 42.6% of those surveyed being affected by these symptoms in their daily activities. Symptoms such as fatigue, muscle and joint pain, headache, insomnia, difficulty breathing, and palpitations were particularly common - the same symptoms described in adults.
"The evidence that COVID-19 can also have long-term effects on children […] underscores the need for paediatricians, mental health experts and policymakers to take action to reduce the effects of the pandemic on children's health", write the Italian researchers in their study.
