Kids are very good COVID-19 carriers

Many parents are not sure whether they should bring kids to clinic or hospital for scheduled vaccination or delay it as much as possible. According to Dr Puneet Wadhwa, a respected pediatrician in Dubai, you should not delay vaccination more than 10 days. We sat with Dr Puneet to discuss issues parents are most concerned during COVID-19. 

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Dr. Puneet Wadhwa

Specialist - Paediatrics
Prime Hospital, Dubai

Shall I revise my child's vaccination schedule during COVID-19?

Many parents have this apprehension nowadays because whenever the vaccination date is close by and they are not sure what to do since you know now it was lockdown, but now there’s a partial relaxation in the lockdown. Regarding vaccinations, they have their own importance and it is something we can’t miss actually.

Even in the latest guidelines issued by American Academy of Pediatrics, they have suggested that vaccinations should be going as per schedule although plus/minus seven days, ten days is not a problem. Vaccinations have their own importance, and otherwise we may see a resurgence in other diseases which are protected by vaccines.

Are children less affected by COVID-19?

COVID-19 is a new disease and it will unfold itself for the coming years. But until now we have ample evidence that the infection in children is a bit mild. The reasons behind this are all speculative and until now nothing has been proven. But the most common reason seems to be the symptoms, the signs, which cause more damage, are due to the immune response of the body. And the thing is, in children, up to the age of 10 to 12, the immune system is still developing. So, since their immune system is not very well developed, they show a less response to the virus. That is the probable reason as of now. Because as per se in adults the infection is causing a problem but the major problem happens after the infection starts what we call as an inflammatory cascade which is our bodies’ own immunity reaction to the virus. That causes more damage to the body than the virus itself.

Why children are still not allowed to enter malls in UAE?

Since children are not getting affected that severely, they are in effect very good carriers. If somebody gets COVID-19, he gets sick and he is either resting at home or he’s hospitalized, so in effect he has stopped the spread to other people. But for children, what happens is if the infection is mild and it may go unnoticed, they can effectively spread to many other people, since they are still mobile and they still don’t know they have the infection. So in a nutshell, the higher proportion of asymptomatic and mild infections in children is the one reason why the government may have stopped them from going to malls and public spaces.

Other reason is again some things are not clear and they are coming up, like in the UK. Recently there have been some reports of very severe inflammatory reactions even in children. But the number of those cases are very few. As of now, the main reason seems to be the spread actually. Children can spread it more effectively since they will not be confined, and their infection will not be quarantined.

*Disclaimer: Please consider the information in this video/article most recent as per date and medical recommendations towards COVID-19 may change as the situation evolves.