child covid test
© Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesA boy undergoes a Covid test.
Long Covid symptoms rarely persist beyond 12 weeks in children and adolescents, unlike adults, new research suggests.

The review found existing studies on the condition in children and adolescents have major limitations.

Some do not show a difference in symptoms between those who have been infected with the virus and those who have not.


Comment: As was found in a study of adults, over 50% of those claiming to suffer Long Covid were thought to be just suffering symptoms of ill health more generally, and not from Long Covid: More than half of people with long Covid might NOT have 'long Covid' after all


It comes as research from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute (MCRI) in Australia found that after 10 months in circulation, the Delta variant had not caused more serious disease in children than previous variants and most cases remained asymptomatic or mild.

It also found children and adolescents with pre-existing health conditions - including obesity, chronic kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and immune disorders - have a 25-fold greater risk of severe Covid-19.


Comment: And, as we'll see below, even those risks are likely exaggerated, or at least still so low as to be considered rare. Previous studies have shown that even children with multiple comborbidities are at an "extremely low risk" of Covid complications.


A recent systematic review reported severe Covid-19 occurred in 5.1pc of children and adolescents with pre-existing conditions and in 0.2pc without.

MCRI Professor Nigel Curtis said while children with SARS-CoV-2 infection are usually asymptomatic or have mild disease and low rates of hospital admissions, the risk and features of long Covid were poorly understood.

He added: "Current studies lack a clear case definition and age-related data, have variable follow-up times, and rely on self- or parent-reported symptoms without lab confirmation.

"Another significant problem is that many studies have low response rates, meaning they might overestimate the risk of long Covid."

Dr Petra Zimmermann of the MCRI and the Swiss University of Fribourg said symptoms of long Covid were difficult to distinguish from those attributable to the indirect effects of the pandemic, such as school closures, not being able to see friends, or being unable to do sports and hobbies.


Comment: Indeed. The data shows that the of the lockdowns and now the global roll out of the experimental injections will result in the early deaths of a great many more people than those who were killed by by Covid.


The MCRI-led review analysed 14 international studies involving 19,426 children and adolescents who reported persistent symptoms following Covid-19.

The most common symptoms reported four to 12 weeks after acute infection were headache, fatigue, sleep disturbance, concentration difficulties and abdominal pain.


Comment: These are similar to the symptoms reported by adults and that were not considered to be related to Covid at all. One must now consider whether these people were vaccinated and whether these are signs of injection injury.


Prof Curtis, who is also a professor of paediatric infectious disease at the University of Melbourne and head of infectious diseases at The Royal Children's Hospital in the city, said it was reassuring there was little evidence symptoms persisted longer than 12 weeks, suggesting long Covid might be less of a concern in children and adolescents than in adults.

But he said further studies were urgently needed to inform policy decisions on coronavirus vaccines for children and adolescents.

The study is published in the Paediatric Infectious Disease Journal.