According to a detailed review of public health statistics in the UK, the risk of serious illness and mortality from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is extremely low in children and teens.  COVID-19 infection, on the other hand, raises the risk of serious disease among the most susceptible young individuals, those with pre-existing medical problems and severe impairments, according to the study.

The findings, which were led by academics from UCL, the University of Bristol, the University of York, and the University of Liverpool, guide vaccination and shielding policy for children under the age of 18. The three trials, which were published on the medRxiv pre-print platform, did not examine the influence of extended COVID.

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According to the researchers, young individuals in England had a one in 47,903 risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 and being hospitalised to critical care with COVID-19 during that time period.

Another research based on data from England found that 25 children and teenagers died as a result of COVID-19, equivalent to an absolute risk of mortality from the condition of one in 481,000, or around two in a million.

“These new studies show that the risks of severe illness or death from SARS-CoV-2 are extremely low in children and young people,” said senior author on two of the studies, Professor Russel Viner from UCL to PTI.

These young individuals with a higher risk are also more susceptible to any winter virus or other disease, according to the researchers, that is young people with various health issues and severe impairments.

“COVID-19 does, however, increase the risks for people in these groups to a higher degree than for illnesses such as influenza (seasonal flu),” Viner told PTI.

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These findings, according to the researchers, are significant because they will shape recommendations for young people as well as vaccination decisions for teens and children not only in the UK but throughout the world.

“Factors linked to a higher risk of severe COVID-19 appear to be broadly consistent for both children and adults,” said study lead author Joseph Ward from UCL to PTI.

“Our study found a higher risk of admission to intensive care among young people of Black ethnicity compared to white, as well as among young people with health conditions such as diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease,” Ward told PTI.

Young persons with multiple illnesses were found to be at the greatest risk, according to the study. They stated these disorders were also risk factors for other illnesses that led to critical care hospitalisation, albeit to a lower extent than COVID-19.

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The early findings will be presented to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in the United Kingdom, as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO).