COVID-19 and children

Dziewczynka w maseczce ochronnej.

Why do infants and young children have milder clinical courses with COVID-19? The latest observations of American and British scientists suggest that children have more robust mucosal immune systems and increased levels of IL-17 and IFN-γ in the serum. Therefore, the neutralization of SARS-CoV-2 is more effective in children compared to adults. Moreover, children have lower levels of clonally expanded cytotoxic T cells and subsequently reduced acute hyperinflammation, which is one of the symptoms of severe COVID-19 in adults. The review article was published in Science.

https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ade1675