Flushing Hospital Medical Center: COVID-19 In Children

Press release from Flushing Hospital Medical Center:

January 21, 2022

Recent reports have shown a dramatic increase in the number of children testing positive for COVID-19 in the United States, especially as the highly transmissible Omicron variant spreads across the country.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, nearly 1 million COVID-19 cases were reported the week of January 13th, which is four times the amount we experienced during last winter’s surge.

Due to the rise in pediatric cases in the U.S., Flushing Hospital Medical Center would like to provide parents with a list of signs and symptoms to look for in their children.

In most cases, COVID-19 symptoms in kids are milder than the symptoms experienced by adults and in some cases, children display no signs at all.

Some of the possible symptoms of a COVID-19 infection in children include:

Some children may also experience diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, or loss of taste or smell.

Even though most children who become infected do not experience severe symptoms, some may develop a condition called multisystem inflammatory syndrome (or MIS-C). This condition is characterized by inflammation in various parts of the body, including the heart, kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin, brain, or gastrointestinal organs. Recent research has shown that children between the ages of 2 and 15 infected with COVID-19 may develop MIS-C. The onset of symptoms typically occurs between two to six weeks after the child is exposed to coronavirus. Possible symptoms of MIS-C include:

The best protection against serious illness for COVID-19 is to get vaccinated. It is recommended that all children, ages five and older to get a vaccine. For details, please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website at https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/

All content of this newsletter is intended for general information purposes only and is not intended or implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult a medical professional before adopting any of the suggestions on this page. You must never disregard professional medical advice or delay seeking medical treatment based upon any content of this newsletter. PROMPTLY CONSULT YOUR PHYSICIAN OR CALL 911 IF YOU BELIEVE YOU HAVE A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

This press release was produced by Flushing Hospital Medical Center. The views expressed here are the author’s own.