Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Pediatric Populations

Abstract

Most pediatric cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are asymptomatic or mild in disease severity, with few deaths reported worldwide. The most commonly reported symptoms in children include fever and cough. A notable portion of infected pediatric patients are asymptomatic in clinical presentation, and children may therefore significantly contribute to overall disease transmission rates as asymptomatic carriers – an important public health consideration as schools and other public spaces are reopened. Additionally, there has been an increased incidence of reports of pediatric chilblain-like lesions and of a newly emerging inflammatory condition, multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), both of which are temporally associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, in efforts to limit disease transmission, strict public health measures have been implemented globally, including school closures and stay-at-home orders, which may have had inadvertent negative effects on the pediatric population, including decreased emergency department utilization, decreased routine vaccination administration, and adverse impacts on mental health.