Children and young people are ‘extremely unlikely’ to become seriously ill from coronavirus, three new studies have found.
Experts discovered that children have a one in 50,000 chance of being admitted to intensive care after testing positive for Covid-19.
It found that 251 people under the age of 18 were taken into ICU with Covid during the first year of the pandemic.
The risk of children and teenagers dying from the virus is even lower - with estimates suggesting that the risk of death in people under 18 is approximately two in a million.
A total of 25 children and young people had died as a result of the virus in England so far.
The studies, which were carried out by experts at the University College of London and universities in Bristol, Liverpool and York, did not look into the impact of Long Covid.
More than 300 young people were admitted to intensive care after contracting PIMS-TS, a rare inflammatory syndrome in children caused by the virus. The risks of children becoming severely unwell from the condition is one in 38,911.
Covid-19 is said to increase the likelihood of serious illness in the most vulnerable young peoples, such as those with pre-existing medical conditions and severe disabilities. But experts say that the risk remains “low overall”.
Professor Russell Viner, senior author on the studies, said: “These new studies show that the risks of severe illness or death from SARS-CoV-2 are extremely low in children and young people.
“Those young people at higher risk are those who are also at higher risk from any winter virus or other illness – that is, young people with multiple health conditions and complex disabilities. Covid-19 does however increase the risks for people in these groups to a higher degree than for illnesses such as influenza (seasonal flu).
“Our new findings are important as they will inform shielding guidance for young people as well as decisions about the vaccination of teenagers and children, not just in the UK but internationally.”
The conclusions from the studies will be sent to the Joint Committee on Immunisation and Vaccination (JCVI), who advised the Scottish Government on the vaccine rollout.
A final decision is yet to be made on whether or not to vaccinate children against the virus in Scotland.
