Pediatrics https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-0702 (2020)

Compared with adults, children infected with COVID-19 experience mild disease; however, younger children are vulnerable to the disease and may experience some of the more severe outcomes.

COVID-19 is a severe respiratory disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Understanding whether children are affected differently from adults is important for clinical and containment strategies.

Dong et al. analyzed data from 2,143 reported cases of children with COVID-19 reported to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. They found that children of all ages are susceptible, without significant sex differences, but that infants in particular had severe outcomes. There was also evidence of human-to-human transmission of the disease.