Children and COVID-19 Research Library

A worldwide COVID-19 mass vaccination campaign targeting adults was launched in late December 2020. Subsequently, the Comirnaty (BNT162b2) vaccine was recommended for children aged 12–15 years in May 2021. In Norway, only one dose of the Comirnaty vaccine was recommended to children aged 12–15 years. Vaccination was not recommended for children who had been infected with SARS-CoV-2. In line with findings in older age groups, the most prevalent adverse events after vaccination that have been reported in 12- to 15-year-old adolescents are injection site pain (in 79 to 86 % of participants), fatigue (in 60 to 66 %), and headache (in 55 to 65 %). Adolescents aged 12–17 years have been found to have a moderately higher risk of adverse reactions than adults. For new vaccines, clinical trials typically collect data on commonly recognized adverse events and safety profiles. However, questions about the menstrual cycle have not been included in clinical studies. A significant number of reports on menstrual disturbances after COVID-19 vaccination have been registered in spontaneous adverse events surveillance systems in several countries (USA, UK, Norway, the Netherlands).

Research suggests that children with disabilities have been systemically marginalised during the Covid-19 pandemic as contamination measures complicated some social policies. School closure, quarantine, and the increased use of social media in remote schooling have placed children with disabilities in a vulnerable situation. This article explores the subjective consequences of such processes through the analysis of qualitative interviews with parents who had children with disabilities. To contextualise our analysis, we also draw on expert interviews with bureaucrats and social workers and data from a survey that was sent out to parents who had children with disabilities. Taken together, these data sources provide a rich empirical context to study how the pandemic influenced the access of children with disabilities to education and social services in Norway.

This research examined a range of alcohol use indicators among Norwegian adolescents before and during the early COVID-19 pandemic. It examined two cohorts of Norwegian 16-year-olds from the nationwide MyLife study who entered high school in fall 2020 (i.e., COVID-19 pandemic cohort; n = 915) and fall 2019/18 (i.e., prepandemic cohort; n = 1,621). Through e-surveys, adolescents reported their past year drinking frequencies and quantities (generating the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Concise; AUDIT-C scores) and completed Social Facilitation (SF) and Tension Reduction (TR) subscales of the Alcohol Outcome Expectancies Scale. Cohort differences across these outcomes were examined with linear and modified Poisson regression models.

here is limited evidence on whether the relative severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in children and adolescents differs for different severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 variants. This study compares the risk of hospitalization to acute COVID-19 or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) among unvaccinated persons <18 years with COVID-19 (cases) between waves of the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron (sublineage BA.1) variants in Norway.

Schools and preschools have largely remained open in Norway throughout the pandemic, with flexible mitigation measures in place. This contrasts with many other high-income countries that closed schools for long periods of time. Here we describe cases and outbreaks of COVID-19 in schools and preschools during the academic year 2020/2021, to evaluate the strategy of keeping these open with infection prevention control measures in place. In this descriptive study, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health initiated systematic surveillance for COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in schools and preschools in October 2020. Data was compiled from the national outbreak alert system VESUV, municipality websites, and media scanning combined with the national emergency preparedness register Beredt C-19. An outbreak was defined as ≥ 2 cases among pupils or staff within 14 days at the same educational setting. Settings were categorized as preschool (1–5-years), primary school (6–12-years), lower secondary school (13–15-years) and upper secondary school (16–18- years).

The present work investigates how the increased domestic responsibilities created by the Spring 2020 lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in Norway and gender ideologies relate to the well-being of mothers with elementary school children. In June 2020, a cross-sectional online study including current and retrospective measures with 180 mothers (Mage = 39.96 years, SD = 6.11) of elementary school children across Norway was conducted. First, in line with earlier research on the strain of the pandemic on parents, and especially mothers, this study found that Norwegian mothers’ well-being during the lockdown significantly declined compared to before the lockdown (both measured retrospectively). Furthermore, mothers’ well-being after the Spring 2020 lockdown did not immediately return to pre-lockdown levels. Finally, it predicted that gender ideologies (i.e., essentialist beliefs about parenthood) would exacerbate the negative impact of increased domestic responsibilities (i.e., childcare and housework) on mothers’ well-being (i.e., higher standard-higher stress hypothesis).

The uncertain and challenging situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic affects adolescents and their parents in an exceptional way. More knowledge of health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health literacy (HL) and COVID-19-related worries in adolescents and parents 1 year into the pandemic is needed. The present study aimed to describe HRQoL, HL and COVID-19-related worries of 16- to 17-year-old adolescents and parents of adolescents. Further, to assess the strength of associations between gender, HL, COVID-19-related worries and HRQoL. A cross-sectional study involving 215 adolescents and 320 parents was conducted, exploring HRQoL, HL, COVID-19-related worries and sociodemographic variables. KIDSCREEN-10 and RAND-36 were used to measure HRQoL. Data were analyzed using bivariate methods, multiple linear regression and robust regression.

Pregnant women are recommended to receive COVID-19 vaccination to reduce risk of severe COVID-19. Whether vaccination during pregnancy also provides passive protection to infants after birth remains unclear. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19 vaccination in pregnancy was associated with reduced risk of COVID-19 in infants up to age 4 months during COVID-19 pandemic periods dominated by Delta and Omicron variants. This nationwide, register-based cohort study included all live-born infants born in Norway between September 1, 2021, and February 28, 2022.

Intergenerational programs have benefits for both children and older adults; however, the ongoing pandemic has changed social situations across the globe. The focus of this article is on exploring transitions and transformations due to societal conditions and demands that drive the implementation of intergenerational programs during a time of a global crisis that is the COVID-19 pandemic. Through an online survey form and focus group discussion, a total of 64 kindergarten practitioners shared their perspectives on intergenerational programs between young children and older adults in kindergartens in Norway. Kindergarten practitioners identified challenges that hinder intergenerational programs in kindergarten settings during the pandemic, as well as conditions that facilitate its implementation. Implications from this research indicate the need to think differently to be able to provide children with intergenerational experiences in kindergarten settings in Norway even during the pandemic and beyond.

Worries related to the COVID-19 pandemic are associated with mental health problems and reduced life satisfaction. However, the association between different types of worries about COVID-19 and adolescent mental health is unclear. Moreover, there is a lack of information about whether certain groups of adolescents are more vulnerable to the adverse effects of worries and how social support may moderate these effects. Adolescents (N = 12,686) completed a survey during the lockdown in spring 2020 in Oslo, Norway (37% response rate, 56.4% girls).