How many children do you know have long Covid

[Baileysforchristmas]

Just wondering how many people on here have experience of children with long Covid?

@Baileysforchristmas

I asked because maybe I was being naive re long Covid in children and maybe it’s just not in my area, it’s seems to be quite rare, most children don’t seem to have many symptoms.

@Baileysforchristmas

I do wonder at the point of these threads because the implication of lots of people chiming in to say that they don't know any kids with long covid is that it's not a big deal (and I suppose this is providing arguments for those who don't want vaccines offered to children and want all restrictions eased immediately)

Yup, as others have said, it's rare, and is also very difficult to ascertain prevalence as children often do not show initial symptoms of COVID, but also disentangling effects of the pandemic and lockdown from direct effects of COVID infection on child health is difficult. A recent study from UCL (currently available as a pre print) estimated prevalence in children as 5%.

This brings up a point similar to that of risk of death being relatively low for COVID - when the denominator is so high, this affects a lot of people and so very low prevalence shouldn't just be brushed away.

5% of the total population of kids in the UK (12.7 million) works out at 625, 000 affected with long COVID. That is a lot. Even if this was a dramatic overestimation, say it's 10-fold less, that's still 62,500.

Even if you don't personally think it's a big deal, the knock on effect on support services and healthcare of potentially having this amount of extra children with chronic illness would be staggering.

5% of the total population of kids in the UK (12.7 million) works out at 625, 000 affected with long COVID. That is a lot. Even if this was a dramatic overestimation, say it's 10-fold less, that's still 62,500.

But that’s assuming they all get infected with Covid. That’s highly unlikely also.

Sadly I 'know' of 3. One if my own DC (she is 9) been unwell for 15 months now but much improved on where she was. For reference she has no health issues and was very fit beforehand. The other boy I know is also 9 and was recovered after a year. He had lingering respiritory issues (for a year, none prior to covid). I also know of one other girl who is 12 and still very unwell 15 months on but that is through a friend so don't know details. If you go on the Covid groups though there seem to be quite a lot of children struggling, particularly in teenage years.

www.longcovidkids.org/

My other DC has had covid and was fine after 2 weeks mild illness, so clearly this only affects some children. I still believe schools should be open and things for kids should be continuing as normal (as much as possible) but I think it's good to be aware that some children will be affected by this.

The thing is in kids it presents very differently. My DC was ill for 2 weeks, then fine for a few weeks then chronically ill for 13 months pretty much after 'overdoing it' by going on a short bike ride. Lots of people seem to have this with long covid, they 'recover' only to relapse several weeks on. I think sadly we will see more issues in kids coming up in coming months but hopefully the masses will be unaffected.

My DC is mostly better now but not fully and tbh it has been absolutely hellish for her and us and I wouldn't wish long covid on anyone especially children.

@TheKeatingFive

5% of the total population of kids in the UK (12.7 million) works out at 625, 000 affected with long COVID. That is a lot. Even if this was a dramatic overestimation, say it's 10-fold less, that's still 62,500.

But that’s assuming they all get infected with Covid. That’s highly unlikely also.

it really isn't - that's the problem people miss with COVID

The original variant was SO transmissible - the delta/delta+ even more so. We have have seen how infection very quickly spreads through school settings, aided by the fact kids don't have the best appreciation for SD/handwashing etc, and are often asymptomatic so it's impossible to know who may be infectious.

@FoolsAssassin

I can't link atm, but if you Google "Pernicious Anaemia Society, long Covid" you'll find a PAS article listing symptoms of long Covid v B12 deficiency symptoms. Tracy Wittys B12 website is a great one for further information.

Myself & DD have PA, when I had Covid myself, I noticed a flood back of pre treatment PA symptoms, which I treat with extra B12 injections & it helped a lot.

Both DD & I looked to have thyroid issues pre starting on B12 injections. It's a common manifestation of low vitamin B12 that thyroid blood tests are abnormal. Both of our thyroids normalised after B12 deficiency treatment

@Zandathepanda

Possibly my Dd, according to doctors. There wasn’t a test for it then. They tested her for everything but just knew it was an unidentified virus. She is still exhausted and has seizures regularly, over a year later. Previously a healthy 15 year old.

We're the same with our 16 year old DS. Chronic fatigue and joint pain over 8 months on with no end in sight. Anecdotally there's a suggestion that symptoms inprove after vaccination so we're hoping our doctors will go down that route soon.

it really isn't - that's the problem people miss with COVID

Yes it is. Plenty of people were exposed and never got it. Ta obvious that some had some natural resistance for whatever reason.

I think you can both acknowledge that it is incredibly rare whilst also acknowledging that it can be a very serious problem for those that have developed it.

I don’t know any kids with long Covid. I can count on one hand the amount of kids who I know have had Covid. All of them recovered in a couple of days, none had more than a temper and feeling a little ‘off’.

My experience with adults is very similar. I can count on two hands the amount of adults I know who have had Covid, and all recovered after a week. None had anything worse than a bad case of flu.

This is my own personal experience, however I know this is just my little corner of the world. I don’t minimise/ disbelieve that people have died. I don’t minimise/ disbelieve that people have gone on to develop long Covid.

However, just as some can be accused of minimising the risk of long Covid, some could equally be accused of exaggerating the risk as well.

If I was to listen to some people I would go back to believing that everyone with Covid either ends up chronically ill or dead.

That is just as untrue and damaging as saying that long Covid isn’t a problem and/ or it’s ‘just’ post viral fatigue.

Even if you don't personally think it's a big deal, the knock on effect on support services and healthcare of potentially having this amount of extra children with chronic illness would be staggering.

This makes me wonder why the statements were made re the vaccine needing to benefit group to be considered ethical. I’m not making a statement on whether to use vaccine or not, JCVI experts can decide that, but if there is this risk then they will be weighing it up.

As people are mentioning adults, I'd add..

I know several dozen adults who have had Covid & were very ill. 6 left with long Covid, 6 dead, including a cousin. Mostly london & Lancashire. Not all deaths were listed as Covid per se as they died later from complications. Ironically the friends I was terrified for, because they have autoimmune diseases & COPD, sailed through it with relative ease

I find threads like this fascinating because Im guessing most of you know a lot of people. I know relatively few and yet know a lot of adults who have had covid/long covid (with several who've been to hospital with it but none overnight) and know various children and teens who've had covid.

A friends neighbours child now has major asthma issues/long covid.
Why do I know so many who've had covid...........???? No idea!

No children. I only know three children who have definitely tested positive: one is my own, who is the only one who was symptomatic. V sick with cough for a few weeks but fully recovered.

I do know two adults with extremely debilitating long covid: one has had to give up work entirely and can't care for her toddler solo at all, the other who was fit and healthy (played tennis, went jogging, that sort of thing) is still on reduced hours over a year later, still massively limiting what he can do in a day. His wife and children had no symptoms. Both were just under 40.

Its very random - I imagine to date long covid in children is rare, but equally it took until the Kent variant for it to start effecting pregnancies and for a link to stillbirths and late miscarriage to show up. So if, say, the delta variant was leading to long covid in children I'd say it would be too soon to see. I think its safe to say the 'original' variant led to more long covid in adults than children, but that's probably not a guarantee for the future.

None.

My kids are all secondary age, have been on school often this year because people in their year have tested positive for Covid.

All children who tested positive were never ill, not sick enough to be in bed, bounced back very quickly from their minor symptoms and straight back to school after quarantine.

None. But one of my children took nearly two years to recover after having HF&M.

www.theguardian.com/society/2021/may/03/its-terrifying-parents-struggle-to-get-help-for-children-with-long-covid

Lack of research into area means children are being sent away from A&E and parents told they are overanxious

@TheGenealogist

None.

My kids are all secondary age, have been on school often this year because people in their year have tested positive for Covid.

All children who tested positive were never ill, not sick enough to be in bed, bounced back very quickly from their minor symptoms and straight back to school after quarantine.

How can you possibly know this? As a teacher in a secondary school I don't even know how ill all the children have been who have had covid, and we have has a lot.

@TheGenealogist

None.

My kids are all secondary age, have been on school often this year because people in their year have tested positive for Covid.

All children who tested positive were never ill, not sick enough to be in bed, bounced back very quickly from their minor symptoms and straight back to school after quarantine.

How can you possibly know this? As a teacher in a secondary school I don't even know how ill all the children have been who have had covid, and we have has a lot.

@MrsFin

Where are all these people and children who have had Covid? I live in a big town, and work for the biggest employer in that town, and I don't know anyone who has had Covid. (I'm not a Covid denier or anything)

According to my antibody tests I’ve had Covid. I had no idea. So if people don’t even know they’ve had it themselves then you thinking you don’t anyone who has had it is not that reliable an indicator.

@chocolateicecream

None. But one of my children took nearly two years to recover after having HF&M.

Mine was coughing for three months with whooping cough.

@CassandraTrotter the children in my kids' year groups who tested positive were not ill. All of them to my knowledge were tested because a parent had tested positive. Even though they tested positive too, and were required to isolate, they were not ill.

Teenage children are constantly whatsapping, snapchatting, tiktokking. You can bet your backside that if one of the children who had caused the rest to be off school was genuinely ill, they'd have heard about it.

My daughter didn’t / doesn’t have long covid in the sense of it being permanent.

Having had covid in March, she had a really horrible cough which lasted all summer, to the point that she was vomitting every time she coughed.

That is apparently a species of long covid as it went on long after the infection had ceased. She is asthmatic and I worry about her catching it again - she’s 12 so I’m really hoping the roll out vaccines to 12-16 soon!

Until a month ago I did not know a single person who had had COVID. Then there was a break out at my eldest daughters school snd several kids got it, infecting their families. My 3 dds all have it and it’s shit. The worse and most demoralising thing is the loss of taste and smell. They have no appetite and it’s distressing for them not to be able to taste.it’s a total wipe out of a sense for them. Like a sci fi horror. I have the same thing. It’s been 2 week now and for other kids at the my eldest school it’s been a month. I’m terrified my kids won’t get it back, and also worried about what other damage might have been done at a cellular level

None

@Blah1881. Same here. Until two weeks ago, apart from work colleagues, I didn't know anyone who had it. Now I know several kids and a few adults with it. The adults have been vaccinated and are mostly OK. Some of the kids are really poorly. The school is only isolating close contacts (not year groups), but that still means around 50% of kids are at home.

news.stv.tv/north/mum-of-girl-with-long-covid-calls-for-specialist-clinics?fbclid=IwAR1PNg4sRBo8gc8e6yJWgYjTIrT43zzcVppQb72touG1HXeau7G1T3-YtJk

saw this sad story today (hope link works)

I think as pp has mentioned - some people minimise the risk but others do exaggerate it somewhat also and would have you believe that there are millions of children suffering with it and that everyone who gets covid either dies or has long covid whereas that is most certainly not the case. The vast majority of Covid infections appear to be milld or asymptomatic (otherwise hospitals would have been in a worse state than they were in Jan/Feb).

Ultimatley there is a risk of post viral issues with any virus, my son was ill for ages after a stomach bug, the issue with Covid is the current levels in children. We have just started summer holidays so hoping that helps a bit here.