Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children

Optimistic drawings by children in Quebec, April 2020. Some use the phrase "Ça va bien aller", a slogan which translates to "everything will be all right".[1]

A systematic review notes that children with COVID-19 have milder effects and better prognoses than adults.[2][3] However, children are susceptible to "multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children" (MIS-C), a rare but life-threatening systemic illness involving persistent fever and extreme inflammation following exposure to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.[4][5]

As a vulnerable population, children and youth may be affected by COVID-19 pandemic policies implemented, including education, mental health, safety, and socioeconomic stability; the infection of the virus may lead to separation or loss of their family.[6] As with many other crises, the COVID-19 pandemic may compound existing vulnerabilities and inequalities experienced by children.[7][8][9] This was especially true when it comes to mental health.[10]

  1. ^ "Meet one of the people behind Quebec's 'Ça va bien aller' posters | CBC News". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 28 July 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  2. ^ Ludvigsson JF (June 2020). "Systematic review of COVID-19 in children shows milder cases and a better prognosis than adults". Acta Paediatrica. 109 (6): 1088–1095. doi:10.1111/apa.15270. PMC 7228328. PMID 32202343.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference Reardon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Ahmed M, Advani S, Moreira A, et al. (September 2020). "Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a systematic review". eClinicalMedicine. 26: 100527. doi:10.1016/j.eclinm.2020.100527. ISSN 2589-5370. PMC 7473262. PMID 32923992. S2CID 221494176.
  5. ^ CDC (24 February 2021). "COVID-19 and Your Health". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Archived from the original on 1 September 2020. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  6. ^ Li, Lili; Taeihagh, Araz; Tan, Si Ying (3 February 2023). "A scoping review of the impacts of COVID-19 physical distancing measures on vulnerable population groups". Nature Communications. 14 (1): 599. Bibcode:2023NatCo..14..599L. doi:10.1038/s41467-023-36267-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 9897623. PMID 36737447.
  7. ^ "COVID-19: Working with and for young people". www.unfpa.org. May 2020. Archived from the original on 26 July 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  8. ^ Harvard Health Publishing (22 March 2021). "Coronavirus outbreak and kids". Harvard Health. Archived from the original on 4 October 2020. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
  9. ^ Armitage R, Nellums LB (May 2020). "Considering inequalities in the school closure response to COVID-19". Lancet Global Health. 8 (5): e644. doi:10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30116-9. PMC 7195275. PMID 32222161.
  10. ^ Li, Fengxiao (2022). "Impact of COVID-19 on the lives and mental health of children and adolescents". Frontiers in Public Health. 10: 925213. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.925213. ISSN 2296-2565. PMC 9623428. PMID 36330117.