Children don't get sick even if infected?..."Stealth Omicron patients have 7 times higher death risk than flu"

A 6-year-old girl is receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Storrs, Connecticut, USA. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Sumi] A study has found that the risk of death for children hospitalized with the stealth Omicron (BA.2) variant is seven times higher compared to influenza.

Recently, the US CNN cited a study by the research team from the University of Hong Kong and Hong Kong Princess Margaret Hospital, published as a preprint in the international medical journal The Lancet.

According to the report, the research team compared hospitalization records of 1,147 children infected with the BA.2 variant in Hong Kong from last month 5th to 28th, 737 children infected with previous COVID-19 variants from January 2020 to the end of last year, and 16,423 and 32,212 children hospitalized with human parainfluenza virus (HPIV) and influenza, respectively.

The study found that the fatality rate of children hospitalized with the BA.2 variant was 0.35%. This is seven times higher than that of influenza patients (0.05%) and more than six times higher than HPIV patients (0.04%).

The rate of severe cases requiring hospitalization was also more than 18 times higher than previous COVID-19 variants and more than twice that of influenza in children infected with BA.2. In the case of HPIV, the rate was similar to that of BA.2.

Additionally, children with BA.2 had a higher risk of developing brain edema compared to those with HPIV. The probability of respiratory complications in children hospitalized with BA.2 was about 11 times higher than with previous COVID-19 variants and about twice that of influenza.

However, CNN added that it should be noted that this study has not been officially published in a medical journal and has not undergone external peer review.

In fact, the likelihood of death from BA.2 in children is known to be low. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children under 12 years old account for less than 0.1% of COVID-19 deaths in the US. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, as of midnight on the 25th, there were 9 deaths among 0-9 year olds in Korea, accounting for about 0.06% of COVID-19 deaths.

US pediatric infectious disease specialists also stated that while the situation is not alarming, prevention through COVID-19 vaccination and other measures is necessary.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.