dr. ruth grimes, president of the canadian paediatric society, said the delta variant has led to more kids getting sick, though the percentage of children facing severe outcomes is still very low.
“just because it’s not a large number, doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t still be concerned about the health effects on children,” she said.
at the end of july, the american academy of pediatrics (aap) reported a “substantial” increase in covid-19 cases in children, which most states define as people under 18. almost 72,000 cases were added in the last week of the month, a jump from the week prior with 39,000 cases.
“it appears that severe illness due to covid-19 is uncommon among children. however, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects,”
the aap said
.
grimes said the society also worries alberta could see a bad enough spike in cases generally to shut down schools and impact children’s mental health.
dr. noel gibney, with the edmonton zone medical staff association, said unknowns about the delta variant mean “it’s just too early for the science and that’s part of the problem.”