Abstract
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread across the world, caused lockdowns, and has had serious economic and social consequences. COVID-19 manifests differently in children than adults, as children usually have a milder course of disease, mild symptoms if any, and lower fatality rates are recorded among children. SARS-CoV-2 transmission also seems to be different between children and adults. Many factors are proposed to explain the milder outcome in children, e.g., a more appropriate immune response (especially active innate response), trained immunity, a lack of immunosenescence, and the reduced prevalence of comorbidities. A better understanding of the differences in susceptibility and outcome in children compared with adults could lead to greater knowledge of risk factors for complicated COVID-19 cases and potential treatment targets. We highlight proposed reasons as to why children are less affected by COVID-19 than adults.
Original language | English |
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Journal | COVID |
Volume | 2 |
Issue number | 3 |
Pages (from-to) | 369-378 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 2673-8112 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 2022 |
Keywords
- viral infection
- transmission
- immune system
- ACE2
- young people
- adolescents
- children
- coronavirus
- COVID-19
- SARS-CoV-2