With the rising number of children getting infected with the Delta variant of COVID-19 in Singapore, we should no longer be wondering whether can kids get Covid with higher severity. The answer is: yes, they can and it could be fatal.
The Ministry of Health (MOH) has also reportedly shared that children who have contracted the virus could get very sick.
In a press conference held on Friday (10 September) by the national COVID-19 task force, the Director of medical services from MOH, Mr Kenneth Mak, said that the Delta variant has currently been causing community cases in Singapore.
Can Kids Die When They Get Covid? Cases From Other Countries Have Confirmed They Can
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Mak said that children in Singapore have not been severely ill. Those who have been infected have either had no symptoms or just mild ones.
But experience from other countries such as the United States has found that many children who do get COVID-19 require intensive care treatment. Others have even been reported to succumb to the infection.
As community cases increase and Singapore continues to lives with the virus, the associate professor advised that the country must be better prepared for the possibility of children who get COVID-19 to get very sick or even die.
“We do see more kids infected, but so far we have been fortunate not to see severely ill children. They have either been asymptomatic or with mild symptoms, and we’re happy to see this outcome, or we are mindful that in other countries, particularly reported in the U.S., there have been many children admitted into ICUS. And also, deaths among children,” says Mak as per Mothership.
He added, “So while we see our community cases rise, we do need to prepare for every possibility, and that includes that we will see very sick children with infections, or even have to prepare for that scenario, where we might even see deaths.”
Vaccination Coverage In Singapore Must Widen
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To protect those vulnerable to the disease such as our children, Mak said vaccination coverage in the country must widen further to reduce such risks.
This includes encouraging senior citizens and pregnant women to get vaccinated as well. Mak added that about 90,000 seniors have yet to receive the vaccine.
Pregnant women and women who plan to have children should also get the vaccine as it has been deemed safe for them as well as their babies.
Mak also pointed out that vaccination can reduce the likelihood of infected persons transmitting the disease to others. It is also noted how immunised individuals have cleared the virus faster. This is even with a similar viral load as those among vaccinated and unvaccinated people in the early stages of COVID-19 infection.
An infected symptomatic person who has been vaccinated will only be infectious for the first nine days. Meanwhile, those who are unvaccinated and have contracted the virus can be infectious for up to 16 days before their viral load clears.
According to a study by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases, a vaccinated person is two times less likely to get infected by a confirmed COVID-19 case at home. This is as compared to someone who is unvaccinated.
Getting fully vaccinated can actually lower the risk of needing oxygen support and receiving intensive care. So overall, the chances of getting infects are clearly lower for those who are vaccinated.
Source: Mothership/ MOH
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