Coronavirus disease‐19 deaths among children and adolescents in an area of Northeast, Brazil: why so many?

Abstract

objective To describe COVID-19 deaths among children and adolescents in Sergipe, Brazil. methods Ecological study of all COVID-19 reported cases and deaths occurring in children and adolescents < 19 years of age in Sergipe reported by the health surveillance and mortality information systems of Sergipe's Health Secretary and hospital records. results Of 37 deaths of children < 19 years old were reported up to 30 September 2020, corresponding to 4.87 deaths for 100 000 population < 19 years old. Most deaths occurred among infants (44.1/100 000), and this age group had the highest case fatality rate (15.3 %). Most children had comorbidities such as chronic neurological diseases (n = 7; 19%) and prematurity (n = 4; 11%). Most children who died (n = 18; 49%) were not admitted to intensive care units (ICUs). conclusion COVID-19 mortality in children and adolescents in Sergipe was higher than in other Brazilian states and in high-income countries. A large proportion of the deaths occurred among children with comorbidities and a minority of children were admitted to ICU, reflecting the limited provision of such beds in the State. Newborns and infants are a high-risk group that must have priority in health public policy.

COVID-19 related risk of in-hospital death in Silesia, Poland

“…The contribution of other factors to this gradient cannot be excluded and sometimes the likely cause reaches beyond biological phenomena. For example, higher COVID-19 mortality of patients younger than 19 years of age in Brazil was ascribed to insufficient provision of intensive care unit beds for this age group [24]. Such a cause is not likely in Poland.…”

Non-neutralizing secretory IgA and T cells targeting SARS-CoV-2 spike protein are transferred to the breastmilk upon BNT162b2 vaccination

“…Recent data from Brazil has brought to the forefront that within the pediatric population, infants are among the most susceptible to and present the highest COVID-19 fatality rate 3,4,53 . Yet, lactating women were excluded from initial vaccine trials and lactating HCW were often advised by national health authorities to discontinue breastfeeding upon receiving COVID-19 mRNA vaccine 2 .…”

“…Even after vaccine emergency authorization, breastfeeding HCW have been advised to discontinue breastfeeding upon receiving COVID-19 mRNA vaccine 2 . This is especially worrisome since infants are the children's age group most affected by COVID-19 3,4 . In view of the physiological alterations observed in lactating women and of the crucial role of breastmilk in providing immunity to the suckling infant, there is a pressing need to foresee how mRNA vaccines impact immune responses in lactating mothers and to uncover the effector profile of breast milk transferred immune protection.…”

Pneumococcal Septicemia after COVID-19 in Teenager: Clinical Case

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