Growing concerns about the consequences of COVID-19 on children's health

While the World Health Organization has warned about the adverse consequences of the coronavirus outbreak on children, there have also been reports of an increase in some rare but severe complications among them that may be related to COVID-19.

"Children may face lower risks from the spread of COVID-19, but they face high risks due to not being vaccinated against other diseases," said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, during his press conference on May 28.

Tedros says vaccine shortages have been reported from at least 21 countries, and these shortages are due to border and travel restrictions on transporting the medicine.

Concerns have also been expressed in Iran about vaccination of children.

Mohsen Zahrai, head of the government's Vaccine-Preventable Diseases Department, warned on May 27 about the risk of neglecting vaccination amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr. Zahrai told Iranian domestic news agencies, "There is a fear that, in addition to the coronavirus pandemic, we will also witness the outbreak of other infectious diseases such as polio and measles."

According to this Ministry of Health official, the decline in vaccination coverage is causing the healthcare network to simultaneously be involved in vaccine-preventable diseases while it is dealing with the coronavirus.

The World Health Organization has also warned of a possible increase in polio, measles, cholera, yellow fever and meningitis.

Current data suggests that children and adolescents are at almost no risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Statistics also show that the likelihood of children dying from the disease is very, very low.

However, the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak and its impact on healthcare, educational, social, and family services have repeatedly been met with warnings from international authorities, researchers, and experts.

Additionally, what has been in the spotlight in recent days is the reporting of cases of complications and the appearance of Kawasaki syndrome among children in the United Kingdom and Italy.

The Guardian newspaper reported on Monday that more than a dozen children are showing signs of dangerous complications linked to Covid-19.

CNN reports that a small but growing number of children have been diagnosed with apparent side effects from the coronavirus outbreak.

Reuters reported that in Italy, along with Britain, an investigation is underway into a group of children who recently developed high fever and swelling of the blood vessels.

According to these reports, the symptoms are mostly similar to Kawasaki syndrome. This disease occurs mostly in children under five years of age and damages the blood vessels and arteries. In some cases, these damages can be serious and severe.

The Iranian Rare Diseases Foundation, like other research institutes, has emphasized that the cause of Kawasaki disease is unknown, but it is likely to have an infectious origin and may be caused by factors such as bacteria or viruses.

Myocardial infarction is the most dangerous complication of Kawasaki disease.

Of course, more testing and research are still needed to link the rising number of new cases in Britain and Italy among children to Covid-19. Reuters says that in the United States, a major children's research institute said it had not yet seen a similar case. There has been no report on this in Iran.

Source: Radio Farda