11% of Israeli Kids Now have Lingering COVID

The Health Ministry of Israel announced on Monday that more than 10% of children who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 are now showing signs of suffering from the so-called lingering coronavirus. The data was gathered from a survey that involved parents of around 13,864 children between the ages of 3 and 18 who had recovered from the coronavirus. The data showed that 11.2% of these children are suffering from the symptoms of long COVID. Of the total children who reported the long-term symptoms, 4.6% of those between the ages of 12 and 18 and 1.8% of the children under the age of 12 are still suffering from the symptoms, even though it has been six months after the illness. 

The survey indicated that the probability increased with the children’s age. The chances of COVID-19 were higher amongst the children between the ages of 12 and 18 if they had coronavirus symptoms. However, researchers also discovered that long COVID even existed in 3.5% of the children who tested positive but were asymptomatic. The statement said that these results indicate there are currently thousands of children in the country who are suffering from long-term effects. Scientists have discovered that the coronavirus drives the body into producing a long-lasting immune response.

Rather than attacking the virus, it attacks the body and this could potentially explain why some patients continue to experience a variety of symptoms, even after they have recovered from the virus. As a result, there can be significant damage in the body, including the blood vessels, brain, and liver. These are the areas that have already been affected in patients who have symptoms of what is referred to as the long COVID. This means that those who have recovered from COVID-19 continue to suffer from breathlessness, fatigue, and illness. 

It is believed that long COVID affects around 10% of people between the ages of 18 and 49 who are coronavirus patients. As far as people over the age of 70 are concerned, it affects 20% of these patients. The survey showed that parents of 30% of the children affected reported that there was a deterioration in cognitive, neurological, and mental health abilities. These include concentration problems and disturbed sleep, as compared to before the children had been positive for COVID-19. However, the statement from the Health Ministry did say that as there wasn’t a control group, not all the effects could be directly attributed to the virus. 

The children’s wellbeing could have been affected due to school closures, prolonged lockdowns, and the conflict of Israel with Hamas in May that involved the firing of thousands of rockets on civilians. It was also noted that the survey didn’t involve self-diagnosis from doctors and relied more on self-reporting. But, the study said that these finds are undoubtedly a distressing call and require further investigations into the impact of the coronavirus on the mental and cognitive health of children in Israel. The Health Ministry said that the survey got a 94% response, which covered almost all sectors of the country’s population.