SARS-CoV-2 reinfection can spike long Covid risk in kids: The Lancet

A reinfection with the SARSCoV2 the virus behind Covid19 disease doubled the risk of developing long Covid among children according to a large study published in the journal The Lancet Infectious DiseasesThe findings involving over 460000 children and adolescents across 40 paediatric hospitals in the US found that after the first Covid infection about 904 children per million developed long Covid within six monthsFollowing a reinfection this number more than doubled to approximately 1884 children per millionThe kids were more likely to suffer from a wide range of rare but persistent and sometimes serious conditions including heart inflammation myocarditis blood clots kidney injury cognitive difficulties fatigue and respiratory problemsldquoThese findings add to previous evidence linking paediatric long Covid to multisystem effects and highlight the need to promote vaccination in younger populations and support ongoing research to better understand postacute sequelae of SARSCoV2 infection long Covid identify highrisk subgroups and improve prevention and care strategiesrdquo said researchers from the universities of Pennsylvania Iowa and CalifornialdquoThe growing frequency of SARSCoV2 reinfections in the omicron era underscores the need to understand their longterm consequences Our findings indicate that PASC risk persists after reinfection in children and adolescents although the magnitude might vary by previous infection history severity and vaccination status These results suggest that reinfections might contribute to cumulative morbidityrdquo they addedThe study analysed electronic health records from January 2022 through October 2023 a period dominated by the highly transmissible omicron variant Researchers compared health outcomes following childrens first and second documented Covid infections to isolate the risks associated with reinfectionThe team emphasised that while vaccines and other prevention measures may not completely eliminate the risk of contracting Covid they remain the most effective way to prevent both initial infections and reinfections thereby reducing the risk of longlasting symptoms in childrenThey stated that the studys findings reinforce the need to strengthen public health efforts to increase Covid vaccination coverage among children and adolescentsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever