Public and private hospitals in São Paulo recorded an increase in cases and hospitalizations for children in Covid-19 in November, compared to October, raising an alert for the impact of the infection among kids. In the previous months, there were no significant variations.
Although small children up to ten years old represent only 1.43% of total hospitalizations and 0.31% of deaths by Covid in the country, experts draw attention to the fact that they are not as immune as many people imagine.
Data from the Municipal Health Department show that, in the age group between zero and nine years, there were 18 hospitalizations for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome caused by Covid in October, against 43 in November. The data are from public and private health networks.
“The numbers reveal what is happening to adults. When epidemiological research is carried out, we see that children are becoming infected inside their homes because their parents or other contacts are becoming ill,” says infectologist Francisco Ivanildo Oliveira, medical manager of Sabará.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon