The study is the first large-scale study comparing the health outcomes of coronavirus infection by Omicron and Delta in the age group that has not yet been vaccinated
Omicron infected more children under the age of five than the previous version of the Delta coronavirus, but the risk of serious health consequences was much lower compared, according to a study published in the journal JAMA Paediatrics. The research is the first large-scale study comparing the results of coronavirus infection from Omicron and Delta in the age group that has not yet been vaccinated. The study, led by researchers at Case Western Reserve University in the United States, shows that the Omicron variant is six to eight times more contagious than the Delta variant. However, only 1.8 percent of children infected with Omicron were hospitalized, compared with 3.3 percent with Delta, the researchers said. Read also: Russia records ‘world first’ COVID nasal vaccine Advertising “The main finding of our study was that many more children became infected with Omicron compared to Delta, but the children who became infected were not as severely affected as the children who became infected with the Delta variant,” said Pamela Davis, a research professor. at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “However, because there were so many more children infected, our hospitals were affected during the winter months by an influx of young children,” he added. Large sample size The team analyzed the electronic health records of more than 6,561,640 children in the United States, including more than 22,772 children infected with the Omicron variant and more than 66,000 children infected with Delta. The study also compared the records of more than 10,000 children just before Omicron was detected in the United States, but when Delta was still dominant. The researchers noted that since children under the age of five were not yet eligible for COVID-19 vaccines and had a low rate of previous SARS-CoV-2 infections, this also limits their pre-existing immunity. They examined the clinical health outcomes for pediatric patients during a 14-day window after SARS-CoV-2 infection. Among the factors they examined were: emergency visits, hospitalization, ICU admissions and use of mechanical ventilation. Analyzing the demographic data, the researchers found that children infected with Omicron were on average younger – 1.5 years old compared to 1.7 years old – and had fewer comorbidities. Read also: Omicron hybrid XE may be the most contagious COVID mutant: Researchers Rong Xu, of the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, noted that Omicron is less severe than Delta, but that the reduction in severity in clinical results is only 16 to 85 percent. “Furthermore, as so many unvaccinated children become infected, the long-term effects of COVID-19 infections on children’s brain, heart, immune system and other organs remain unknown and worrying,” he added. (With information from Bodies)
