How does the delta variant affect children? Could be more severe in kids, Harvard expert says

The delta variant causing coronavirus spikes successful the U.S. and crossed the globe could beryllium much contagious and much terrible successful children, according to a Harvard expert, and cases are expected to summation arsenic schools unfastened and the upwind gets colder.

“There’s each crushed to judge that (the delta variant) is much contagious to children and from children than the older variants, and that means that astatine a societal level, we’re seeing higher numbers of cases successful each property groups, including successful children,” said Marc Lipsitch, infectious illness epidemiologist astatine the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Children are inactive overmuch little apt to get terrible coronavirus compared to adults adjacent with the delta variant circulating successful the community, said Lipsitch.

But arsenic schools reopen and the upwind gets colder, cases are expected to increase.

“We volition person this occupation of a ample fig of infections successful children, the ample bulk of them mild successful their effects, but a proportionality of them much serious,” Lipsitch said during a Tuesday virtual briefing.

As the fig of coronavirus cases grows, the fig of terrible cases volition turn arsenic well.

More information is needed to larn astir the nonstop contagiousness and the severity of the delta variant compared to different strains of the virus, but Lipsitch said it’s “reasonable to believe” the delta whitethorn beryllium somewhat much terrible successful kids.

Lipsitch said it’s wide that kids volition beryllium exposed to coronavirus successful schoolhouse and successful the household. Even vaccinated adults who are infected with the delta variant could walk the microorganism onto an unvaccinated child, helium said.

“It’s intelligibly imaginable for a vaccinated big infected with delta to infect a child, whether it happens with precocious frequence is going to beryllium an important probe question for the coming weeks,” Lipsitch said.

Children property 12 and older are presently eligible to get vaccinated, and respective back-to-school vaccination efforts person been underway successful the U.S. However galore parents of younger children are anxiously awaiting clearance to get a changeable for their small one.

Lipsitch said children property 5 to 11 mightiness go eligible astir the extremity of this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal 2022.

In the meantime, wearing a disguise wrong and having due hygiene and ventilation successful schools volition assistance to support people successful idiosyncratic and minimize invaluable clip that could beryllium mislaid owed to unwellness oregon quarantine, according to Lipsitch.

He added that being flexible and unfastened to alteration connected masking policies is important though. “Wearing masks is nary one’s thought of fun.”