According to the Office for National Statistics, only one in 100 primary-aged students have long COVID despite half of the parents reporting at least one of its symptoms, and the condition could be being over-reported in children.
As specified in a Mail Online report, Professor Russell Viner, a Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies or SAGE member and child health expert, explained it showed just how common fatigue and headaches are in children.
The report indicated that 47.5 percent of parents said their child was still combating at least a single symptom of COVID-19 12 weeks after.
However, almost the same percentage specifically, 46.6 percent, had similar symptoms despite never being infected with the virus. The most common symptoms were coughs, lost voice, sore throat, and shortness of breath.
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Millions of children returned to school, with the government beginning to ease coronavirus restrictions as a ramp-up mass vaccination drive.
Students with Long COVID
The ONS approximated that below one in 40 secondary students in the United Kingdom have long COVID. This report was based on an investigation of 3,400 parents and 3,300 students from March 2020 to December 2021.
Commenting on the findings, former chair of the Royal College of Pediatrics and Child Health Professor Viner said the data emphasize just how common symptoms like the ones mentioned earlier are in the children and teenagers, regardless of whether they were infected with the virus or not.
The professor added that nearly all the symptoms occurred as often in those who never had a positive COVID test compared with those who already had.
Such findings make it clear that research merely counts the problems of individuals who have had COVID-19 or those who have not overstated the degree of major issues following infection.
Long COVID
Long COVID is an inadequately understood condition that has seen survivors complain about fatigue, breathing difficulties, and concentration problems.
Experts have expressed doubt before over long COVID approximations as headaches and tiredness are very common. The report showed just one percent of kids below 11 years old met the clinical definition for the condition, a positive test, lingering symptoms for at least 12 weeks, and daily life affected by such symptoms. In the meantime, only 2.7 percent of secondary school pupils met the same criteria, according to the ONS.
Nonetheless, a total of 57.6 percent of children who were diagnosed with COVID-19 reported continuous symptoms 12 weeks following their case. This was only a little higher than the 49.5 percent who reported a common symptom despite never testing positive for the virus.
Symptom Rates Compared
Despite the symptoms' rates being similar in children who tested positive and kids who did not, long COVID rates were substantially higher in children who already suffered from a mental disorder.
Essentially, according to a similar KentOnline report, 30 percent of primary school children who have mental disorders reported long COVID symptoms, compared to 7.7 percent of those who don't have.
Primary school pupils with long COVID were significantly more likely to have at least one mental disorder (30.0%) than those without (7.7%) https://t.co/WYtNVJepXi pic.twitter.com/lsdjHRKLBD
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) February 28, 2022
Commenting on the rates, Professor Viner explained, "We have always known" that there's a small group of children and teenagers in whom persistent problems following COVID-19 infection are affecting them considerably.
There have been many arguments about the size of this group, though, said the professor adding such data is quite helpful in verifying this seems to be a "reassuringly small group."
Related report about Long COVID in children is shown on Sky News's YouTube video below:
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