Kids infected with Omicron had parents who were unvaccinated, says study

PUNE A study conducted by Pune’s BJ Medical College on kids who were infected with Omicron showed that the majority of the parents, of kids who were infected with the Omicron variant, were not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or not vaccinated at all, which can be hypothesised to contribute to the spread of the variant

PUNE A study conducted by Pune’s BJ Medical College on kids who were infected with Omicron showed that the majority of the parents, of kids who were infected with the Omicron variant, were not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 or not vaccinated at all, which can be hypothesised to contribute to the spread of the variant. The study is now been published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science.

A study conducted by Pune’s BJ Medical College on kids who were infected with Omicron showed that the majority of the parents, of kids who were infected with the Omicron variant, were not fully vaccinated. (HT FILE PHOTO)

The study was conducted among 14 infected children admitted between December 1 and February 28, 2022.

Five (36%) children showed high total Covid-19 antibodies, which may indicate reinfection by the Omicron variant, supporting the theory of immune escape.

The study also highlights that children, especially those with comorbidity, infected with Omicron variant are at a risk for hospitalisation. A small proportion of these may need intensive care. With adequate monitoring and supportive care, the mortality rates are low (14 per cent in the series).

The study showed that the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 infection was seen to be more infectious but less severe in children than adults with reduced hospitalisation rates. There is a paucity of data on hospitalised children with confirmed Omicron variants.

The study also showed that the median duration of hospital stay was 10 days (IQR=8) which was shorter than that observed with previous variants. Of the 14 children, there were two deaths and 12 children were discharged, suggesting that the disease severity was mild to moderate in most of the children.

The study concluded that the hospitalised children with Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 who have underlying comorbidities may have severe presentations needing ICU care. Mortality rates are low with appropriate ICU care.