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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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1216 - 1230 of 1396
Why is COVID-19 less severe in children?: a review of the proposed mechanisms underlying the age-related difference in severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections

AUTHOR(S)
Petra Zimmermann; Nigel Curtis

Published: October 2020   Journal: Archives of Disease in Childhood

In contrast to other respiratory viruses, children have less severe symptoms when infected with the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This review discusses proposed hypotheses for the age-related difference in severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Factors proposed to explain the difference in severity of COVID-19 in children and adults include those that put adults at higher risk and those that protect children. The former include: (1) age-related increase in endothelial damage and changes in clotting function; (2) higher density, increased affinity and different distribution of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 receptors and transmembrane serine protease 2; (3) pre-existing coronavirus antibodies (including antibody-dependent enhancement) and T cells; (4) immunosenescence and inflammaging, including the effects of chronic cytomegalovirus infection; (5) a higher prevalence of comorbidities associated with severe COVID-19 and (6) lower levels of vitamin D. Factors that might protect children include: (1) differences in innate and adaptive immunity; (2) more frequent recurrent and concurrent infections; (3) pre-existing immunity to coronaviruses; (4) differences in microbiota; (5) higher levels of melatonin; (6) protective off-target effects of live vaccines and (7) lower intensity of exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Cite this research | No. of pages: 11 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: adolescent health, child health, COVID-19, disease transmission
Child development during the COVID‐19 pandemic through a life course theory lens

AUTHOR(S)
Aprile D. Benner; Rashmita S. Mistry

Published: October 2020   Journal: Child Development Perspectives
The COVID‐19 global pandemic and the resulting economic, health, and educational disruptions have upset all aspects of young people’s lives. The pandemic’s reach will likely continue in the near term and as psychological and academic trajectories unfold over time. This article draws on the central tenets of life course theory—intertwined developmental trajectories, linked lives, and stratification systems (Elder, 1998)—to inform understanding of potential adverse effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on children’s and adolescents’ adjustment and well‐being, as well as mechanisms and processes that may buffer or exacerbate the pandemic’s negative impact.
Migraine symptoms improvement during the COVID-19 lockdown in a cohort of children and adolescents

AUTHOR(S)
Gianfranco Dallavalle; Elena Pezzotti; Livio Provenzi (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Frontiers in Neurology
Pediatric migraine is among the most common primary or comorbid neurologic disorders in children. Psychological stressors are widely acknowledged as potential triggers involved in recurring episodes of pediatric migraine. As the COVID-19 emergency may have affected the levels of stress perceived by children and adolescents with migraine, the present study was aimed to understand the effect of COVID-19 emergency on symptoms intensity and frequency in pediatric patients.
Childhood immunization and COVID-19: an early narrative review

AUTHOR(S)
Bojana Beric-Stojsic; Julie Kalabalik-Hoganson; Denise Rizzolo (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Frontiers in Public Health
The COVID-19 pandemic has evolved into arguably the largest global public health crisis in recent history—especially in the absence of a safe and effective vaccine or an effective anti-viral treatment. As reported, the virus seems to less commonly infect children and causing less severe symptoms among infected children. This narrative review provides an inclusive view of scientific hypotheses, logical derivation, and early analyses that substantiate or refute such conjectures. At the completion of a relatively less restrictive search of this evolving topic, 13 articles—all published in 2020, were included in this early narrative review.
Protecting essential health services in low-income and middle-income countries and humanitarian settings while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Karl Blanchet; Ala Alwan; Caroline Antoine (et al.)

Published: October 2020

In health outcomes terms, the poorest countries stand to lose the most from these disruptions. In this paper, we make the case for a rational approach to public sector health spending and decision making during and in the early recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on ethics and equity principles, it is crucial to ensure that patients not infected by COVID-19 continue to get access to healthcare and that the services they need continue to be resourced. We present a list of 120 essential non-COVID-19 health interventions that were adapted from the model health benefit packages developed by the Disease Control Priorities project.

On the effect of age on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in households, schools and the community

AUTHOR(S)
Edward Goldstein; Marc Lipsitch; Muge Cevik

Published: October 2020   Journal: The Journal of Infectious Diseases

There is limited information on the effect of age on the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection in different settings. This research reviewed published studies/data on detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection in contacts of COVID-19 cases, serological studies, and studies of infections in schools.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 8 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child health, COVID-19, disease transmission, schools
Unique needs of childhood cancer survivors during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Victoria J. Forster; Fiona Schulte

Published: October 2020   Journal: Supportive Care in Cancer
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a global health pandemic that has caused significant morbidity and mortality for individuals worldwide. Survivors of childhood cancer (CCS) may be especially vulnerable to both the physical and mental health impacts of COVID-19. Despite publications highlighting the unique risks for survivors of cancer amid COVID-19, little attention has focused on the specific needs of CCS. The aim of this commentary, therefore, is to highlight the unique physical and mental health needs of CCS to better inform healthcare professionals (HCPs) that may encounter CCS during the pandemic.
Cite this research | No. of pages: 17-19 | Language: English | Topics: Health, Mental Health | Tags: child health, child mental health, diseases
Act now for children: how a global pandemic is changing the lives of children in Middle East and Eastern Europe region

AUTHOR(S)
Juliana Breidy

Institution: World Vision
Published: October 2020

This research explores how the pandemic is impacting the lives of boys and girls. A cross-sectional observation design was developed with the application of convenience sampling at the country level and aggregation of all samples at the regional level (762 girls and boys ages 11–17 from World Vision private or grant funded programmes). The survey took place in June 2020. Quantitative results were complemented with findings from key informant interviews with 130 children ages 13–15.

Beyond the disease: contextualized implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for children and young people living in Eastern and Southern Africa

AUTHOR(S)
Kaymarlin Govender; Richard Gregory Cowden; Patrick Nyamaruze (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Frontiers in Public Health
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has created extraordinary challenges and prompted remarkable social changes around the world. The effects of COVID-19 and the public health control measures that have been implemented to mitigate its impact are likely to be accompanied by a unique set of consequences for specific subpopulations living in low-income countries that have fragile health systems and pervasive social-structural vulnerabilities. This paper discusses the implications of COVID-19 and related public health interventions for children and young people living in Eastern and Southern Africa. Actionable prevention, care, and health promotion initiatives are proposed to attenuate the negative effects of the pandemic and government-enforced movement restrictions on children and young people.
The management of children with cancer during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid review

AUTHOR(S)
Matteo Amicucci; Angela Mastronuzzi; Italo Ciaralli (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Journal of Clinical Medicine
Despite the fact that cancer patients seem to be at a higher risk of being infected with SARS-CoV-2, limited data are available in the pediatric oncology setting. A systematic rapid review was conducted to analyze scientific literature regarding the management, interventions, and strategies adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the pediatric cancer population. Our search on PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and EMBASE databases yielded 505 articles.
COVID-19 and children: UNICEF data hub
Institution: UNICEF Data & Analytics
Published: October 2020

Children are not the face of this pandemic. But they risk being among its biggest victims, as children’s lives are nonetheless being changed in profound ways. All children, of all ages, and in all countries, are being affected, in particular by the socio-economic impacts and, in some cases, by mitigation measures that may inadvertently do more harm than good. Moreover, the harmful effects of this pandemic will not be distributed equally. They are expected to be most damaging for children in the poorest countries, and in the poorest neighbourhoods, and for those in already disadvantaged or vulnerable situations. The potential losses that may accrue in learning for today’s young generation, and for the development of their human capital, are hard to fathom. 188 countries imposed countrywide school closures during the pandemic, affecting more than 1.6 billion children and youth. Even prior to the pandemic, however, children’s learning was in crisis, and the pandemic has only sharpened these inequities, hitting schoolchildren in poorer countries particularly hard. Globally, many schools lack the resources to invest in digital learning, and many children from poorer households do not have internet access.

Public health antibody screening indicates a six-fold higher SARS-CoV-2 exposure rate than reported cases in children

AUTHOR(S)
Markus Hippich; Lisa Holthaus; Robin Assfalg (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Clinical Advances
This paper describes a highly specific and sensitive approach to measuring antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 for population-scale immune surveillance. Antibody positivity was defined as a dual-positive response against both the receptor-binding domain and nucleocapsid proteins of SARS-CoV-2. Antibodies were measured by immunoprecipitation assays in capillary blood from 15,771 children aged 1 to 18 years living in Bavaria, Germany, and participating in a public health type 1 diabetes screening program, in 1,916 dried blood spots from neonates in a Bavarian screening study, and in 75 SARS-CoV-2-positive individuals. Virus positive incidence was obtained from the Bavarian health authority data.
Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 15, 4 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child health, COVID-19, disease transmission, infectious disease | Countries: Germany
Management of newborns exposed to mothers with confirmed or suspected COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Shaili Amatya Amatya; Tammy E. Corr; Chintan K. Gandhi (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Journal of Perinatology
There is limited information about newborns with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Particularly in the hospital after delivery, clinicians have refined practices in order to prevent secondary infection. While guidance from international associations is continuously being updated, all facets of care of neonates born to women with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 are centerspecific, given local customs, building infrastructure constraints, and availability of protective equipment. Based on anecdotal reports from institutions in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic close to our hospital, together with our limited experience, in anticipation of increasing numbers of exposed newborns, this study has developed a triage algorithm at the Penn State Hospital at Milton S. Hershey Medical Center that may be useful for other centers anticipating a similar surge.
The clinical course of SARS-CoV-2 positive neonates

AUTHOR(S)
Giuseppe De Bernardo; Maurizio Giordano; Giada Zollo (et al.)

Published: October 2020   Journal: Journal of Perinatology
The COVID-19 pneumonia was firstly reported in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease had a rapid spread all over the word becoming an international public health emergency. Limited data were available on COVID-19 positive neonates. We reviewed relevant literature to understand the clinical course of disease and transmission routes in affected neonates. The aim of the study was evaluating the clinical course and prognosis of SARS-CoV-2 positive neonates. Based on current literature, the hypothesis of vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2, though conceivable, remains unproven. A research conducted on PubMed database from December 2019 to April 27, 2020 revealed that were reported 25 neonates affected by SARS-CoV-2. Main symptoms were fever, cough, or shortness of breath but often these neonates did not show other symptoms during length stay in hospital. No deaths occurred.
Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 40 | No. of pages: 1462-1469 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child care, child health, COVID-19, disease transmission, infectious disease
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on routine childhood immunization in Saudi Arabia

AUTHOR(S)
Mohammed Alsuhaibani; Aqeel Alaqeel

Published: October 2020   Journal: Vaccines
The COVID-19 pandemic is impacting national and international public health. Routine childhood immunization may be adversely affected by COVID-19 mitigation measures. This study aims to identify the prevalence of delayed immunization and explore the reasons and barriers for delayed immunization during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia.
1216 - 1230 of 1396

UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.

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Each quarterly thematic digest features the latest evidence drawn from the Children and COVID-19 Research Library on a particular topic of interest.
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COVID-19 & Children: Rapid Research Response

UNICEF Innocenti is mobilizing a rapid research response in line with UNICEF’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives we’ve begun will provide the broad range of evidence needed to inform our work to scale up rapid assessment, develop urgent mitigating strategies in programming and advocacy, and preparation of interventions to respond to the medium and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The research projects cover a rapid review of evidence, education analysis, and social and economic policies.