COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – More children across the country are testing positive for COVID-19 than ever before, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
South Carolina pediatricians say there is a similar trend in the state of Palmetto.
According to the AAP, more than 211,000 children contracted COVID-19 during the week of January 14. The previous record was more than 118,000 during the week of December 17.
“I think it’s a real boost based on vacation travel, family travel and things like that. And in my office, absolutely yes. We saw an increase in that same period, ”said pediatrician Dr. Deborah Greenhouse.
But Greenhouse said it is difficult to compare cases among children in South Carolina with other states because of how the state defines childhood.
South Carolina is one of two states that sets the limit for a childhood case at age 20. Most other states define a child as someone under the age of 18 or 19.
Greenhouse said South Carolina’s data could be distorted due to this difference in count, because the spread among college students is inflating our numbers.
According to Greenhouse, children in primary or pre-kindergarten are less likely to spread the virus than older children, but all children, on average, are less seriously ill than adults.
Since cases in children can be milder than in adults, Greenhouse suggests being alert to any signs of infection that may infect parents or grandparents later.
“The most common symptoms in young children with COVID are the most common symptoms of a cold or flu: congestion, runny nose, cough. They may or may not have a fever. Very often, they have gastrointestinal symptoms: vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, ”she explained. “The problem is that you’re thinking, ‘God, it can be anything’, yes, it can be anything,” she added.
The virus can also infect any child of any age. Greenhouse said recently that one of her colleagues took care of a mother, father and newborn who tested positive for the coronavirus.
“As the infection increases in the state, obviously, more pregnant women will also contract it,” she said.
However, Greenhouse said there is insufficient data to determine whether a pregnant mother can transmit the virus to a child still in the womb.
For older children, Greenhouse cautioned people to look at this data and decide whether students should return to face-to-face full-time learning.
“I am seeing more children with anxiety, more children with depression, more children who are killing themselves, more children with social isolation than I have ever seen in my career and I have been in practice for over 25 years. I’ve never seen anything like this before, ”she said.
With the added greenhouse effect, if proper precautions are taken, children can safely go to class because children, especially children under 10, rarely transmit the virus to each other.
However, there is a risk that children will contract the virus from adults or adults by passing it on to each other in the school environment.
Copyright 2021 WIS. All rights reserved.