Children and adolescents in African countries should also be vaccinated for COVID-19

Sam-Agudu, Nadia A.; Quakyi, Nana Kofi; Masekela, Refiloe; Zumla, Alimuddin; Nachega, Jean B.

doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-008315

Cited by 15 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In addition, a systematic review by Kitano et al of children with COVID-19 in LMICs compared with high-income countries found that the highest risks for intensive care unit admission and death were in children younger than 1 year in LMICs. It is critical that policy makers, pediatric societies, and public health institutions in LMICs include children in their COVID-19 vaccine guidelines and procurement planning and prioritizing for those at highest risk of severe disease and death . Further research is needed to understand the pathogenesis and high mortality among infants with COVID-19 in LMICs to inform life-saving treatment interventions.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Need to Study Clinical Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 From Middle- and Low-Income Regions

2022

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portion of infants who met the cutoffs for delay, which Springer considered to be more appropriate, demonstrated a statistically significant difference only with respect to the gross motor subdomain. Importantly, this does not detract from the differences on the continuous fine motor and personal-social scores. Gross motor skills develop at an earlier age than fine motor and personal-social skills; therefore, greater variability is expected in this domain at this age. Finally, decrements in gross motor skills are one of the earliest indicators of risk for autism spectrum disorder. Given the lack of autism spectrum disorder screening and diagnostic tools at this early age, decrements in gross motor skills may be particularly meaningful.We encourage readers to interpret our preliminary report 1 as one would a screener-there is an early indication of potential developmental differences in infants born during the COVID-19 pandemic that should be carefully monitored. Given the small sample size, it is critical not only to replicate our findings, but also to expand on them using objective assessments of neurodevelopment, which we are actively pursuing as part of the longitudinal COVID-19 Mother Baby Outcomes (COMBO) Initiative. While acknowledging the limitations of our analysis, we have a responsibility to disseminate the preliminary results of our study in an effort to shed light on how the COVID-19 pandemic may be impacting infants born during this unprecedented time.

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confidence: 99%

The Need to Study Clinical Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 From Middle- and Low-Income Regions

2022

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“…data from Brazil and Africa showed, respectively, an overall mortality rate of 7.7% (1661/21591) and 8.3% (39/469) in pediatric patients hospitalized with COVID-19 13 , 14 , 21 , 22 . These findings have clinical and public health implications and the implementation of an efficacious vaccination program is urgently needed for children and adolescents in low-income regions 23 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Vaccine Effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Adolescents from 15 to 90 Days after Second Dose: A Population-Based Test-Negative Case-Control Study

Oliveira

Oliveira²,

Colosimo³

et al. 2023

The Journal of Pediatrics

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“…Emerging data indicate that children and adolescents from African countries experience higher COVID-19-related morbidity and mortality, when compared with HIC 31 32. Kitano et al reported on the differential impact of paediatric COVID-19 between HICs and low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) in a systematic review 33.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short-term outcomes of South African children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a prospective cohort study

et al. 2023

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BackgroundDespite the life-threatening presentation of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), the overall prognosis is favourable in centres with access to appropriate supportive care. In this study, we investigate the short-term outcomes in children with MIS-C in Cape Town, South Africa.MethodsThis prospective observational cohort study included children <13 years who fulfilled the WHO case definition of MIS-C and were admitted to Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa between 1 June 2020 and 31 October 2021. Clinical features were recorded at baseline and at follow-up at the 6-week cardiology and 3-month rheumatology-immunology clinics, respectively.FindingsFifty-three children with a median age of 7.4 years (IQR 4.2–9.9) were included. There was a slight male predominance (30/53; 56.6%) and the majority was of mixed ancestry (28/53; 52.83%) or black African ancestry (24/53; 45.3%). Fourteen children (14/53; 26.4%) had comorbid disease. The median length of hospital stay was 8 days (IQR 6–10). All children had an echocardiogram performed at baseline of which 39 were abnormal (39/53; 73.6%). All children were discharged alive. The median days from discharge to cardiology follow-up was 39 days (IQR 33.5–41.5) and for rheumatology-immunology clinic was 70.5 days (IQR 59.5–85.0). Eleven children (11/41; 26.8%) had a persistently abnormal echocardiogram at cardiology follow-up. Systemic inflammation and organ dysfunction resolved in most.InterpretationAlthough the short-term outcomes of MIS-C in our cohort were generally good, the cardiac morbidity needs further characterisation and follow-up.

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Children and adolescents in African countries should also be vaccinated for COVID-19

Cited by 15 publications

References 12 publications

The Need to Study Clinical Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 From Middle- and Low-Income Regions

The Need to Study Clinical Outcomes in Children and Adolescents With COVID-19 From Middle- and Low-Income Regions

Vaccine Effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 Variants in Adolescents from 15 to 90 Days after Second Dose: A Population-Based Test-Negative Case-Control Study

Short-term outcomes of South African children with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children: a prospective cohort study

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