In the US, more and more children with severe Covid courses are being hospitalized.
Does this scenario also threaten Germany because of the delta variant?
New York City - The role of children in the coronavirus pandemic has long been unclear.
At the beginning of the pandemic in the spring of last year, experts initially assumed that children would have little influence on the infection process.
A little later, the data suggested that school children in particular act as pandemic drivers, but that they themselves have a very low risk of seriously contracting Covid-19.
In August, when the delta variant of the coronavirus is spreading around the world, another chapter for children in the pandemic may have to be opened.
In the USA, increasing numbers of children have been registered in the past few weeks who had to be treated in hospital after contracting Covid.
This is reported by the news magazine
Spiegel
.
Coronavirus in the USA: More and more children with severe Covid courses in the hospital
According to data from the US health authority CDC, 255 children between the ages of 0 and 17 were hospitalized with Covid in the past week. In the previous week there were 177, which means an increase of 27 percent. Looking at the year, hospitalizations in the age group have risen sharply again since the beginning of July and have even exceeded the previous annual high from January 2021. At that time, the US recorded an average of around 250,000 new infections per day. There are currently 110,000.
So how can this disproportionate accumulation of severe Covid courses in children be explained?
Above all, the lack of vaccination protection for many children must be considered.
While large sections of the population can protect themselves through vaccination, children are often left unprotected in a society that insists on easing.
In the USA - similar to Germany - children from the age of 12 can be vaccinated.
There is basically no vaccination option for those under the age of twelve.
Coronavirus: Lack of vaccination protection - Delta variant could become a problem for children
But apart from the lack of vaccination protection, is there another reason for the increasing hospitalization?
Could the delta variant, for example, lead to more severe courses in children?
"There is no solid evidence yet that the disease is more severe in Delta," Jim Versalovic, chief pathologist at Texas Children's Hospital, told the
New York Times
.
"We are seeing very severe cases right now, but we have seen severe cases more frequently during the pandemic."
According to the current status, the experts continue to assume that the overwhelming majority of children will suffer a slight course of Covid after a corona infection.
However, the data on the delta variant in children is still very thin.
Coronavirus: scenario also possible in Germany?
STIKO boss calms down
Can we still expect an increase in hospitalizations for children, as in the USA, in Germany?
Thomas Mertens, the head of the Standing Vaccination Commission (Stiko) warns against hasty comparisons.
"In the USA, vaccination is recommended for 12 to 17-year-olds, but there the disease burden from Covid-19 is much greater at this age than in Germany," Mertens explained in an interview with
Der Spiegel
.
“This is probably due to the fact that more children there have a metabolic syndrome - obesity, high blood pressure, impaired lipid metabolism and high blood sugar.
In addition, the medical care of many children in the USA is a little worse than here, ”said the Stiko boss.
Coronavirus in children: Biontech is working on vaccine approval for children under twelve
Another problem is the lack of perspective.
The German vaccine manufacturer Biontech had already announced that it wanted to test its vaccine against the coronavirus on children under the age of twelve and thus make it accessible to society as a whole.
It is difficult to foresee when this might happen.
According to reports, Biontech and the US pharmaceutical company Pfizer intend to submit an initial application for approval in the USA this winter.
Before the vaccine can then also be used in Germany in children under twelve, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would have to approve the approval and the Stiko would have to make a recommendation.
The latter will depend heavily on the data available by then.
Until then, the children have no choice but to adhere to the existing hygiene measures and carry out regular tests. Schoolchildren in particular can hope for solidarity from society. Because a higher vaccination rate in society as a whole prevents a sharp increase in new infections and thus also reduces the risk of children becoming infected with the coronavirus.
(fd)
