As parents across Louisiana look to protect their children from the unknown consequences of coronavirus, health officials point to the low number of positive cases as a strong indicator kids are experiencing much milder symptoms from the disease.
Statewide less than 300 under age 18 have tested positive for COVID-19, only one has died, and medical experts say it’s both a function of the testing and the severity of symptoms kids are experiencing from coronavirus.
“If I have a child that I see and they have a pneumonia and their oxygen's low or I do an x-ray and it shows pneumonia, the radiologist may say, ‘this may be coronavirus.’ So, if their symptoms are severe, then we are testing them,” said Dr. Lauren Hernandez, a pediatrician with a large pediatric clinic in Metairie.
With 4 to 5 doctors daily, the clinic sees as many as 300 kids a week and Hernandez said she has only seen a handful who she suspected of having the virus.
“We have not seen any COVID positive patients here at our clinic. We have tested a few but they have been negative,” Hernandez said.
Louisiana Deputy State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter said most pediatric clinics and hospitals around the state have only been testing the sickest kids suspected of COVID-19.
“We're not seeing a lot of serious complications with COVID as compared to older individuals. But we do think they're an effective vector who are getting it and transfer it to one another. But because they don't get that sick, they tend not to get tested that much,” Kanter said.
Meaning if, and when, Louisiana kids are getting it, they're either not showing symptoms, or their cases are not as serious.
“Nationwide, we think the number is 2% of kids under 18, which is a big group. And the number is even less here. We think it's 1% according to our cases across the state but that's an underestimation because the symptoms are more mild in kids if they get symptoms at all,” he said.
The criteria for testing may soon be changing, however.
“I would imagine as more tests become available, we will be able to test more readily,” Hernandez said.
Ochsner Health Systems announced this week they will test people of all ages who are showing symptoms of the disease.
While the state testing sites have not yet changed their criteria for testing, Kanter said they’re constantly re-evaluating who needs to be tested.
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