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there has been recent media interest in Scotland in MIS-C, a rare but severe complication of coronavirus disease in children
but how common has COVID-19 been in this age group?
a thread based on Scottish Open Data
https://news.stv.tv/east-central/schoolboy-recovering-from-coronavirus-linked-coma
but how common has COVID-19 been in this age group?
a thread based on Scottish Open Data
https://news.stv.tv/east-central/schoolboy-recovering-from-coronavirus-linked-coma
coronavirus arrived in Scotland at the end of February (probably introduced in over 300 independent events)
https://www.cogconsortium.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/9th-December-2020-COG-UK-Report-Scotland-SARS-CoV-2-a-genomics-perspective-SAGE.pdf
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.08.20124834v1.full.pdf
https://www.cogconsortium.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/9th-December-2020-COG-UK-Report-Scotland-SARS-CoV-2-a-genomics-perspective-SAGE.pdf
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.08.20124834v1.full.pdf
since then 106,904 people in Scotland have tested positive for coronavirus ( @P_H_S_Official data)
of these 6,328 (6%) have been children under the age of 15
https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/weekly-covid-19-statistical-data-in-scotland
of these 6,328 (6%) have been children under the age of 15
https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/weekly-covid-19-statistical-data-in-scotland
there have been 12,918 hospitalisations for patients positive for COVID-19 in Scotland
of these 147 (1.1%) have been in children under 15
https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/weekly-covid-19-statistical-data-in-scotland
of these 147 (1.1%) have been in children under 15
https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/weekly-covid-19-statistical-data-in-scotland
in Scotland there are an estimated 857,307 children under the age of 15 ( @NatRecordsScot data), which means that 1 in 5,832 children in Scotland have been admitted with the disease
compare this to bronchiolitis, another viral respiratory disease in children
each year leading up to 2019, over 3,000 children were admitted to hospitals in Scotland
with 100,000 children aged <2 in Scotland, this is 1 in 33 children in this age group
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/222/Supplement_7/S592/5892597
each year leading up to 2019, over 3,000 children were admitted to hospitals in Scotland
with 100,000 children aged <2 in Scotland, this is 1 in 33 children in this age group
https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/222/Supplement_7/S592/5892597
a rare but serious complication of coronavirus disease is MIS-C (multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children temporally related to COVID-19)
how many children in Scotland have had this? https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children-and-adolescents-with-covid-19
how many children in Scotland have had this? https://www.who.int/news-room/commentaries/detail/multisystem-inflammatory-syndrome-in-children-and-adolescents-with-covid-19
well, this data isn’t publicly available, but we do know that as of the 29th September 2020, 90 children in the UK had been admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 (PICANET data)
Scotland has around tenth of the total population of the UK
https://www.picanet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/11/PICANet_COVID_report_2020-09-29_v1.0.pdf
Scotland has around tenth of the total population of the UK
https://www.picanet.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/25/2020/11/PICANet_COVID_report_2020-09-29_v1.0.pdf
what about deaths?
in the time period from the 24th February to 7th December 2020 there were 176 deaths in children in Scotland ( @NatRecordsScot)
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/weekly-and-monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths/deaths-involving-coronavirus-covid-19-in-scotland
in the time period from the 24th February to 7th December 2020 there were 176 deaths in children in Scotland ( @NatRecordsScot)
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-publications/weekly-and-monthly-data-on-births-and-deaths/deaths-involving-coronavirus-covid-19-in-scotland
a breakdown of causes of death isn't available yet
however for a recent study we compared causes of death during the first 4 months of lockdown to the equivalent period in previous years
(in general, infective and respiratory causes of death are rare)
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.15.20212308v1
however for a recent study we compared causes of death during the first 4 months of lockdown to the equivalent period in previous years
(in general, infective and respiratory causes of death are rare)
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.10.15.20212308v1
there have been no deaths from COVID-19 in children in Scotland
in summary, no one wants to catch coronavirus
(I haven’t discussed the risks of long covid https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/theprevalenceoflongcovidsymptomsandcovid19complications )
but what we have learnt in the last 9 months that the risk to children of severe disease is very low
(I haven’t discussed the risks of long covid https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/theprevalenceoflongcovidsymptomsandcovid19complications )
but what we have learnt in the last 9 months that the risk to children of severe disease is very low
however if you are looking after a child who is :
more unwell than you would expect with the average virus has signs that they are struggling to breathe are lethargic or unresponsiveseek urgent medical attention!
https://www.global-sepsis-alliance.org/news/2018/4/30/can-you-spot-the-early-warning-signs-of-sepsis
