Are children actually 'as likely' to get COVID-19 as adults?

ISLAMABAD -- So far, reports have maintained that children appear to be less susceptible to infection with the new coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, than adults. But some researchers now claim that this is not the case. As the new coronavirus continues to spread, the public still wonders who is most at risk of infection. Children are a primary concern: How susceptible are they to SARS-CoV-2 infection, really? Until now, reports in peer-reviewed journals - such as this one featured inJAMA Network last month - have suggested that children appear to be less likely to develop COVID-19 than adults. Now, an international team of researchers - many from the Shenzhen Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Peng Cheng Laboratory, both in China - has conducted a study and reached a different conclusion.

This study is preliminary and has not yet been published in a peerreviewed journal. This means that it has not yet undergone a thorough quality and accuracy assessment from specialists in the field. Nevertheless, the authors have made their findings available online in preprint form. Kids' infection rate similar to adults' The researchers analyzed data from people in Shenzhen, China with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections and data from their close contacts. In total, they looked at 391 people with confirmed COVID-19 and 1,286 individuals who were in close contact. The researchers' aim was to find out whether close contacts of people with COVID-19 would test...