United States: According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, unlike previously thought, more kids are developing long COVID.
According to the study, in the United States, around 10 to 20 percent of children who suffered from COVID-19 developed long COVID- said the study’s co-author.
Just one percent (1%) is the prevailing rate of long COVID among children, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
There are “lots of caveats” with what they’re observing and how they reached that number about long COVID. For instance, some studies incorporated their research while looking at a meager percentage of children hospitalized for COVID-19, as wbay.com reported.
Such kids had developed more severe infections and hence possessed more risk of ongoing symptoms or the possibility of new complications.
Most commonly occurred symptoms in long COVID cases among children include- Fatigue, brain fog, and headaches- revealed experts.
Health experts say in some cases, COVID-19 infection can also lead to neurological, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, and behavioral symptoms.
Experts say most symptoms improve within a year. There are no drugs to treat long COVID.
Know more about long COVID
As stated on the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) website, COVID-19 takes a few days or, in a few cases, a few weeks to cure COVID-19 in most children and teenagers. Meanwhile, some experience long-lasting effects, which is called long COVID.
The study also suggested that Long COVID can be developed in those cases where asymptomatic infections are reported. However, it is found to be much less common.
Long COVID also comprised some respiratory symptoms- cough, chest tightness, breathlessness- the conditions which could be worsened and lead to asthma and other respiratory illnesses like Fatigue, most commonly found in children.
Long COVID involves various common symptoms- such as smell and taste loss, headache, diarrhea, chronic pain, rashes, brain fogging, or dizziness. Furthermore, in worst cases, symptoms such as heart disease and diabetes also occur.
What is Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C)?

According to the AAP website, MIS-C is considered the worst form of illness due to COVID and is deadly.
It develops after 2 to 6 weeks of initial infection. It occurs mainly in boys from age 6 to 12, which has more chance to occur among those with African American or Hispanic backgrounds. Those with obesity are also more prone to have MIS-C.
The common symptoms of MIS-C involve fever, chest pain, nausea, abdominal pain, and vomiting. Complications related to the heart, including MIS-C, arrhythmias, and myocarditis, are there.
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