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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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COVID-19: impact of original, gamma, delta, and omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 in vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant and postpartum women

AUTHOR(S)
Fabiano Elisei Serra; Elias Ribeiro Rosa Junior; Patricia de Rossi (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Vaccines
This study compares the clinical characteristics and disease progression among vaccinated and unvaccinated pregnant and postpartum women who tested positive for different variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) using the Brazilian epidemiological data. Data of pregnant or postpartum patients testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and presenting with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) from February 2020 to July 2022 were extracted from Brazilian national database. The patients were grouped based on vaccination status and viral variant (original, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants), and their demographics, clinical characteristics, comorbidities, symptoms, and outcomes were compared retrospectively. Data of 10,003 pregnant and 2361 postpartum women were extracted from the database. For unvaccinated postpartum women, intensive care unit (ICU) admission was more likely; invasive ventilation need was more probable if they tested positive for the original, Gamma, and Omicron variants; and chances of death were higher when infected with the original and Gamma variants than when infected with other variants. Vaccinated patients had reduced adverse outcome probability, including ICU admission, invasive ventilation requirement, and death. Postpartum women showed worse outcomes, particularly when unvaccinated, than pregnant women. Hence, vaccination of pregnant and postpartum women should be given top priority.
COVID-19 impact on disparity in childhood immunization in low- and middle-income countries through the lens of historical pandemics

AUTHOR(S)
Harriet Itiakorit; Abhilash Sathyamoorthi; Brigid E. O’Brien (et al.)

Published: December 2022   Journal: Current Tropical Medicine Reports
This review provides an overview of childhood immunizations and discusses past pandemics particularly in LMIC, factors contributing to disparities in childhood immunizations, and reviews potential lessons to be learned from past pandemics. Vaccine hesitancy, social determinants of health, and best practices to help lessen the pandemic’s influence are also further elaborated. To address current challenges that hindered the progress made in prevention of childhood illnesses through vaccination campaigns and increased vaccine availability, lessons learned through best practices explored from past pandemics must be examined to mitigate impact of COVID-19 on childhood immunization and in turn conserve health and improve economic well-being of children especially in LMIC.
Seroprevalence of SARS CoV-2 among children after the second surge (June 2021) in a rural district of South India: findings and lessons from a population-based survey

AUTHOR(S)
Carolin Elizabeth George; Leeberk Raja Inbaraj; Shon Rajukutty (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: Frontiers in Pediatrics

This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of SARS COV 2 among children in the Bangalore Rural district. It conducted a cross-sectional study after the second surge of COVID-19 from 14 June to 13 July 2021 and recruited 412 children through house to house visits from four villages in a rural district. It administered a questionnaire to collect demographics and details of COVID-19 infection and used the ABCHEK Antibody Card test (NuLifecare,India) which is an ICMR approved test for detecting antibodies (IgG & IgM) by immunochromatography using the finger prick method. It used Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0 for analysis.

Towards prevention of COVID‐19 among children in Ghana: parents’ views about children wearing nose masks in public gatherings

AUTHOR(S)
Fred Yao Gbagbo; Rosemary Quarcoo

Published: June 2022   Journal: Public Health in Practice

The authors examined parents’ views about children nose-masking in public gatherings in Ghana between January and May 2021. This is exploratory sequential mixed methods study comprising qualitative and quantitative components. Four hundred and thirty-nine parents were interviewed using author-developed structured questionnaires and interview guides in a public University in Ghana. Ten respondents in the company of at least three children and of high academic status were further interviewed in-depth to obtain some qualitative information on the research topic. All interviews were conducted in English. Quantitative data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 whiles qualitative data were analyzed thematically.

School health promotion in pandemic times. Results of the COVID-HL school principal study

AUTHOR(S)
Kevin Dadaczynski; Orkan Okan; Melanie Messer

Published: May 2022   Journal: Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz
Die vorliegende Studie untersucht, in welchem Ausmaß Schulen Maßnahmen der Gesundheitsförderung und Prävention während der COVID-19-Pandemie umsetzen. Von besonderem Interesse sind hierbei Unterschiede nach demografischen Variablen, Schulform, Bundesland und die Beteiligung an Landesinitiativen der Gesundheitsförderung.
Pediatric COVID-19 risk factors in Southeast Asia-Singapore and Malaysia: a test-negative case–control study

AUTHOR(S)
Judith Ju Ming Wong; Chin Seng Gan; Sanghvi Heli Kaushal (et al.)

Published: April 2022   Journal: The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene,

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).

Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 106 | Issue: 4 | No. of pages: 1113–1120 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child health, COVID-19, disease control, health services, infectious disease, pandemic, respiratory diseases | Countries: Malaysia, Singapore
Using community–academic partnerships and a creative excpression contest to engage youth in the development of communication materials for promoting behaviors that prevent COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Jacob Szeszulski; Ghadir Helal Salsa; Paula Cuccaro (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Health Promotion Practice
Youth can transmit COVID-19 to adults, but few communication materials exist for engaging youth in COVID-19 prevention behaviors. This study describes the process of leveraging a community–academic partnership in a rapid response initiative to engage youth in a contest (i.e., Youth-Led Creative Expression Contest to Prevent COVID-19 across Texas) to develop creative public health messaging centered on the prevention of COVID-19 transmission and infection for their peers. Core activities included developing a request for applications that solicited submission of creative expression materials promoting the use of COVID-19 prevention behaviors (mask-wearing, social distancing, handwashing, not touching the face) from Texas youth in elementary, middle, and/or high school; sending the request for applications to 48 organizations in Austin, Brownsville, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, and San Antonio in summer 2020; and recruiting a youth advisory board to score submissions and award prizes.
Super-spreaders or victims of circumstance? Childhood in Canadian media reporting of the COVID-19 pandemic: a critical content analysis

AUTHOR(S)
Sarah Ciotti; Shannon A. Moore; Maureen Connolly (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Healthcare
This qualitative research study, a critical content analysis, explores Canadian media reporting of childhood in Canada during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Popular media plays an important role in representing and perpetuating the dominant social discourse in highly literate societies. In Canadian media, the effects of the pandemic on children and adolescents’ health and wellbeing are overshadowed by discussions of the potential risk they pose to adults. The results of this empirical research highlight how young people in Canada have been uniquely impacted by the COVID-19 global pandemic. Two dominant narratives emerged from the data: children were presented “as a risk” to vulnerable persons and older adults and “at risk” of adverse health outcomes from contracting COVID-19 and from pandemic lockdown restrictions. This reflects how childhood was constructed in Canadian society during the pandemic, particularly how children’s experiences are described in relation to adults. Throughout the pandemic, media reports emphasized the role of young people’s compliance with public health measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and save the lives of older persons.
Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 10 | Issue: 1 | No. of pages: 10 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: child health, communication, COVID-19 response, disease control, information, lockdown, media, social distance | Countries: Canada
Hispanic race is a risk factor for COVID-19 during pregnancy: data from an urban New York City hospital

AUTHOR(S)
Deena Elkafrawi; Giovanni Sisti; Felipe Mercado (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology

There are limited studies on predisposing factors for COVID-19 positivity in asymptomatic pregnant women. The literature published to date on asymptomatic COVID-19 pregnant carriers does not focus on pregnancy or pre-pregnancy comorbidities. This study wanted to identify risk factors for COVID-19 in asymptomatic pregnant women. It performed a retrospective chart review of 263 asymptomatic pregnant women admitted to labour and delivery at New York City Health + Hospitals/Lincoln. It analysed the association between race, body mass index (BMI), smoking, indication for admission, gravidity, parity, pre-pregnancy comorbidity, pregnancy comorbidity via uni- and multivariate statistical tests. Only Hispanic race was significant in the univariate analysis (p = .049). At the post-hoc analysis, Hispanics had a higher proportion of COVID-19 cases compared to non-Hispanic Blacks (p = .019). No variables were significantly associated with COVID-19 positivity in the multivariate analysis.

COVID-19 testing among US children, parental preferences for testing venues, and acceptability of school-based testing

AUTHOR(S)
Chloe A. Teasdale; Luisa N. Borrell; Yanhan Shen (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Public health reports

Testing remains critical for identifying pediatric cases of COVID-19 and as a public health intervention to contain infections. This study surveyed US parents to measure the proportion of children tested for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, preferred testing venues for children, and acceptability of school-based COVID-19 testing. It conducted an online survey of 2074 US parents of children aged ≤12 years in March 2021. It applied survey weights to generate national estimates, and it used Rao-Scott adjusted Pearson χ2 tests to compare incidence by selected sociodemographic characteristics. It used Poisson regression models with robust SEs to estimate adjusted risk ratios (aRRs) of pediatric testing.

Adults’ acceptance of COVID-19 vaccine for children in selected lower- and middle-income countries

AUTHOR(S)
Suzanna Awang Bono; Ching Sin Siau; Won Sun Chen (et al.)

Published: December 2021   Journal: Vaccines
Since emergency approval of COVID-19 vaccines for children aged between 12 and 15 years old was recently obtained in the United States and Europe, we aimed to assess the willingness to vaccinate children with a COVID-19 vaccine in lower- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Therefore, we launched an online cross-sectional survey in several LMICs. Questions relating to socio-demographic information, knowledge of COVID-19, level of fear/worry of being infected with COVID-19, and willingness to vaccinate children with the COVID-19 vaccine at 50%, 75% and 95% effectiveness levels, were asked. Of the 6571 participants (mean age = 39 ± 14 years), 64.0%, 72.6%, and 92.9% were willing to vaccinate children at 50%, 75%, and 95% effectiveness levels, respectively. Respondents who were undergraduates, who were more worried/fearful about COVID-19, had higher knowledge scores regarding COVID-19, and a higher belief that COVID-19 vaccination is important to protect others, were more willing to accept COVID-19 vaccination of children. COVID-19 vaccination of children will limit the spread of the virus, especially in schools; it may decrease the need for school closures which has a negative effect on child development.
A multi-method examination of ageism in children before and during the pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Jenny Bauer; Lena-Emilia Schenker; Jennifer Bellingtier

Published: December 2021   Journal: Innovation in Aging
The pandemic has made age more salient. Access to vaccines, mandates to wear masks, and recommendations for contact restrictions have all varied by age. Developmental intergroup theory proposes that greater salience of a feature can lead to greater stereotyping and prejudice. This study investigated this with a multi-method assessment of ageism in children (N = 57, ages 4-8), where data collection occurred both before and during the pandemic. In simulated behavioral measures, children preferred to sit closer to younger adults (mean distance = 1.8 seats) versus older adults (mean distance = 2.8 seats), and, for a simulated treasure hunt, they chose 3.36 younger, versus 1.63 older, teammates. Explicit (picture ratings) and implicit (IAT) ratings also significantly favored younger adults.
Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by children and young people in households and schools: a meta-analysis of population-based and contact-tracing studies

AUTHOR(S)
Russell Viner; Claire Waddington; Oliver Mytton (et al.)

Published: December 2021   Journal: Journal of Infection
The role of children and young people (CYP) in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in household and educational settings remains unclear. This study undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of contact-tracing and population-based studies at low risk of bias. It searched 4 electronic databases on 28 July 2021 for contact-tracing studies and population-based studies informative about transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from 0-19 year olds in household or educational settings. It excluded studies at high risk of bias, including from under-ascertainment of asymptomatic infections. It undertook multilevel random effects meta-analyses of secondary attack rates (SAR: contact-tracing studies) and school infection prevalence, and used meta-regression to examine the impact of community SARS-CoV-2 incidence on school infection prevalence.
Differences in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes among symptomatic versus asymptomatic COVID-19-infected pregnant women: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AUTHOR(S)
Durray Shahwar A. Khan; La‑Raib Hamid; Anna Ali (et al.)

Published: December 2021   Journal: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

There is dearth of information on COVID-19’s impact on pregnant women. However, literature reported trends of COVID-19 differ, depending on the presence of clinical features upon presentation. This systematic review aimed to assess differences in risk factors, management, complications, and pregnancy and perinatal outcomes in symptomatic vs. asymptomatic pregnant women with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. A search was run on electronic databases to identify studies reporting COVID-19 in pregnancy. Meta-analysis was performed and odds ratios and mean difference with 95% confidence intervals were calculated using Review Manager 5.4.

Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection among children and young people: a meta-analysis of controlled and uncontrolled studies

AUTHOR(S)
S. A. Behnood; R. Shafran; S. D. Bennett (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Journal of Infection
Data on the long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children and young people (CYP) is conflicting. This study assessed evidence on long-term post-COVID symptoms in CYP examining prevalence, risk factors, type and duration. It is a systematic search of published and unpublished literature using 13 online databases between 01/12/2019 – 31/07/2021. Eligible studies reported CYP ≤19 years with confirmed or probable SARS-CoV-2 with any symptoms persisting beyond acute illness. Random effects meta-analyses examined pooled risk difference in symptom prevalence (controlled studies only) and pooled prevalence (uncontrolled studies also included). Meta-regression examined study characteristics hypothesised to be associated with symptom prevalence.
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