Not all COVID 'long-haulers' are adults

Adults are not the only ones at risk of developing prolonged symptoms linked to COVID-19. Early research shows cases of "long COVID" are rare among children, but are increasing as they return to in-person learning, sports and other activities, reports The Washington Post.

The publication cited several small surveys and studies that show children are developing such health issues as fatigue, headache and heart palpitations that last for weeks or months. Children with mild or severe cases have developed the long-term problems, along with those who had no symptoms at all during their active infection, according to the report.

While formal data on the topic is still incomplete, Britain's Office for National Statistics in February released figures that showed about 13 percent of children under 11 who contract COVID-19 still had at least one symptom after five weeks. This figure jumped to 15 percent for children ages 12-16. 

"One of the most difficult things about caring for these patients is they have a lot of questions about short- and long-term effects, about what to expect," Dongngan Truong, MD, a pediatric cardiologist at Intermountain Primary Children's Hospital in Salt Lake City, told the Post. "And right now, we don't know what to expect."

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