Katherine Richert of MPR News writes in a recent article that Long Cvid-19 for some kid is harder than getting infected with the virus. A 12-year-old Anna from Sioux Falls (SD) was infected with Covid-19 in fall the fall of 2020, however her fatigue and abdominal symptoms have never gone away, writes Richert.

According to Dr. Bazak Sharon, medical director of M Health Fairview’s pediatric COVID clinic, recent Omicron spike in Minnesota increased demand for pediatric care in MN. “It was a steady trickle until the last two months, which has definitely opened up the floodgates.”

Dr Sharon told MPR News “Anna’s symptoms share a lot of similarities to other post-viral illnesses like chronic fatigue syndrome — syndromes that haven’t been taken seriously by the medical community in the past.”

“With chronic fatigue syndrome because it’s not a common thing, most doctors have never gone through that themselves, or they don’t know anyone who went through that themselves, they never learn about it in medical school,” Dr Sharon added.

• For some kids, long COVID-19 is harder than having the virus
• Long COVID and kids: more research is urgently needed

A recent journal Nature editorial writes that children are getting long Covid-19 just like the adults but more research is urgently needed to better understand the disease among kids.

What little is known about long COVID in children and teenagers suggests that it can be just as disabling as it is in adults. However, there are many fewer studies in teens than in adults — and even fewer in children under the age of 11. This latter group is seeing a surge of COVID-19 infections: in many countries, children are not being vaccinated. More COVID-19 in kids will lead both to more long-COVID cases and to the spread of disease among vulnerable populations. It’s time for younger people to be included in more studies of the condition, including trials of potential treatments. The UK support group Long Covid Kids says that reports of long COVID in children and teenagers are disbelieved by medical professionals. That, too, needs to change.

– Nature Editorial

The editorial adds “Two years into the pandemic, there have been some 400 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 worldwide. Many more have probably gone undocumented. On the basis of the prevalence reported so far, there could be somewhere in the region of 100 million people now living with long COVID.”

The editorial also highlights the fact that most trials were conducted on adults and none were involved with teenagers and children. “But it’s important that young people are not forgotten. Institutions and funding agencies need to think harder and more creatively, otherwise children with conditions such as long COVID will continue to be left behind.”