The researchers said these findings are important as they will inform guidance for young people as well as decisions about the vaccination of teenagers and children, not just in the UK but internationally.
The risk of severe illness and death from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is extremely low in children and teenagers, according to a comprehensive analyses of public health data in the UK. However, the research found that catching COVID-19 increases the likelihood of serious illness in the most vulnerable young people, those with pre-existing medical conditions like diabetes, asthma and cardiovascular disease. These young people with a higher risk are also more susceptible to any winter virus or other illness — that is, young people with multiple health conditions and complex disabilities, the researchers said.
One study found that 251 young people aged under 18 in England were admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic until the end of February 2021. The researchers said this equated to young people of that age group in England having a one in 47,903 chance of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 and subsequently being admitted to intensive care with COVID-19 during that time.
The study also found that 309 young people were admitted to intensive care with PIMS-TS — a rare inflammatory syndrome in children caused by COVID-19 — equating to an absolute risk of one in 38,911.
Another study looking at data for England concluded that 25 children and young people had died as a result of COVID-19, equating to an absolute risk of death from the disease of one in 481,000, or approximately two in a million. “These new studies show that the risks of severe illness or death from SARS-CoV-2 are extremely low in children and young people,” said senior author on two of the studies, Professor Russel Viner from UCL.
