‘stealth’ sub-variant BA.2 causes severe condition in children

CNN (USA) reported that this study is considered preliminary because it has not been scrutinized by outside researchers or published in medical journals, nor has any other research supported the Hong Kong study. Kong.

Dr. Beth Thielen at the University of Minnesota (USA) analyzed that the Hong Kong study provides an important insight into the crude impact of the BA.2 subvariant on populations at high risk. Besides, it also emphasizes the urgency of vaccinating children against COVID-19 and the need for more treatments for this age group. “It’s possible to give children remdesivir, but we don’t have a lot of other tools,” says Thielen.

For a long time since the outbreak of COVID-19, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government has applied strict disease control measures including mandatory mask wearing, social distancing, access As a result, Hong Kong recorded a low number of COVID-19 cases. But the story completely changed when the sub-variant BA.2 appeared in Hong Kong. This special administrative region faces a skyrocketing number of new cases and many deaths, especially among the elderly who are hesitant to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The study, conducted by scientists at the University of Hong Kong, compared the number of children hospitalized for the BA.2 subvariant with other variants between January 2020 and November 2021. In February 2022, during the peak period of the epidemic wave caused by the Omicron variant in Hong Kong, mainly caused by BA.2, there were 1,147 children hospitalized and 4 children died. 3 out of 4 children (11 months, 3 years, 4 years and 9) are in good health. Only a 9-year-old child has muscular dystrophy. All four children have not been vaccinated against COVID-19. These are the first children to die from COVID-19 in Hong Kong.

When comparing mortality rates, the researchers found that children hospitalized with BA.2 were seven times more likely to die than children hospitalized with the flu. The mortality rate for BA.2 is 0.35% while that of influenza is 0.05% and 0.04% for viral pneumonia.

In addition, the rate of children admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) because of BA.2 is 18 times higher than that of other variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Infectious diseases expert at UH Rainbow Hospital for Babies and Children in Cleveland, US, Claudia Hoyen, said parents should remember that “the risk of a child dying from Omicron is very low”. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), less than 0.1% of COVID-19 deaths in the US are children under 12 years of age. But Claudia Hoyen suggested that parents with young children need to be more careful than other families.

Ms. Thielen said that for families, the best way to protect babies and children is to make sure everyone around them has had their vaccinations, including the booster shot. She also emphasized that the COVID-19 vaccine benefits pregnant women because the antibodies from the vaccine will protect both the mother and the fetus for a time even after birth. In addition, antibodies are also passed from breast milk to the infant. Ms. Thielen added that high-quality masks for all family members are also a good idea.