Children unlikely to develop severe COVID: NTAGI chief

Children are as susceptible as adults to catching COVID but are unlikely to develop severe disease, National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation in India (NTAGI) chairman NK Arora said on Monday.

“Usually children suffer from sore throat, cough or cold. Some children develop fever, which in some cases may go up to 103 degrees. Some also face gastric symptoms. Typically, these symptoms settle in 4-5 days,” Arora, who is also a paediatric gastroenterologist, was quoted as saying by IANS.

According to doctors, most hospitalisations are among children suffering from other comorbidities. It has also come to light that the majority of COVID-positive children are asymptomatic.

On the hospitalisation rate for kids, Praveen Kumar, Associate Professor, Paediatrics, Lady Hardinge Medical Institute, reportedly said: “In the past few weeks, we have admitted children who have tuberculosis, leukaemia, neurological disease, liver abscess. When tested for COVID, they were found positive. They were primarily admitted for other conditions, not COVID.”

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Most children need only symptomatic treatment such as paracetamol for fever and steam inhalation for relieving congestion. Any other medicine should be given only under medical supervision, say paediatricians, adding that there is also no need for high radiation tests such as chest CT scan for children.

“I recommend that parents should consult a doctor if the child shows some symptoms of COVID so that the physician can advise required investigation and treatments, which may vary from case-to-case,” said Kumar. “In rare cases, however, children may develop complications requiring hospitalisation. If a child has a persistent fever for more than three days, if he/she is facing difficulty in breathing, has bluish lips, rashes on the skin, feeling confused, seek medical help immediately,” he added.