Children and COVID-19 Research Library

There was a considerably slower uptake among children despite the high COVID-19 vaccination uptake amongst adults and adolescents in Singapore. This was concerning as unvaccinated children are at risk of severe COVID-19 infections and a source and reservoir of infections. We sought to understand the impact of social media on parental vaccine hesitancy and to determine the risk factors associated with vaccine hesitancy.  An electronic survey conducted from November 2021 to March 2022. Data on the demographic profiles of respondents and to classify them based on their vaccine hesitancy status. Data including the choice of social media used to obtain information on the COVID-19 pandemic, frequency of use were collected. Statistical significance was defined as p < 0.05.

COVID-19 vaccination is a key public health measure to mitigate the crippling effects of the pandemic. COVID-19 vaccination began in adults and targeted adolescents at a later stage. However, medical decision-making on its uptake among the latter was unknown, which could be affected by their literacy and concerns about the vaccine. The study aimed to elucidate the awareness, concerns and barriers of adolescents toward the COVID-19 vaccine. A cross-sectional online survey using a self-developed questionnaire was conducted between June to November 2021. The adolescent participants were students from institutes of post-secondary education who were recruited via convenience sampling. The data were collated from an officially approved electronic platform, audited and analyzed. Continuous and categorical variables were expressed as mean (standard deviation) and percentages, respectively.

There is a scarcity of population-level data of pediatric COVID-19 infection from Southeast Asia. This study aims to describe and compare epidemiological, clinical, laboratory and outcome data among pediatric COVID-19 cases versus controls in two neighboring countries, Singapore and Malaysia. It used a test-negative case–control study design recruiting all suspected COVID-19 cases (defined by either clinical or epidemiological criteria) from January 2020to March 2021 admitted to two main pediatric centers in Singapore and Malaysia. Data were collected using a standardized registry (Pediatric Acute and Critical Care COVID-19 Registry of Asia).

Despite the potential for COVID-19 infection control–related events to have an effect on child well-being, comprehensive assessments of postlockdown changes and persistent outcomes are lacking. This paper aims to survey the extent of COVID-19 lockdown–related lifestyle changes, their differences by child age and family socioeconomic status, and the potential association with child adiposity 1 year after lockdown.  A self-administered, electronic survey was introduced to 2 ongoing child cohorts (the Singapore Preconception Study of Long-term Maternal and Child Outcomes [S-PRESTO] cohort of preschool children aged 1-4.5 years and the Growing Up in Singapore Towards Healthy Outcomes [GUSTO] cohort of primary school children aged 9-10.7 years) from July 8, 2020, to September 5, 2020, which was 1 to 3 months after the end of strict universal movement restrictions (duration of 73 days ending on June 19, 2020). All active participants from S-PRESTO and GUSTO, 2 population-based, longitudinal, parent-offspring cohorts in Singapore, were invited to participate and monitored through June 15, 2021.