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The Physical and Mental Health Impact on Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic
BY DR. NIRU PRASAD
Here we are, more than 20 months later, and we are still unable to control the infections by COVID-19 and the variants due to mutation of the virus. We also have emerging strains of the virus that are affecting our children and seniors. In the United States, as reported by current CDC protocol, American children were being affected more due to transmission of the SARS-COV-2 virus as of last month. It is hard to predict how the data will look since it is changing every day. Here is what we have learned so far:
• The symptoms of the SARS-COV-2 virus include fever, fatigue, headaches, myalgia, cough sneezing and more non-specific symptoms like flu or sea- sonal allergies.
• Current evidence according to CDC and WHO suggests that children with underlying illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension, and chronic asthma suffer more and may need hospitalization.
• Testing, isolation, and quarantine serve as COVID-19 for our school-aged children. The criteria for testing include the signs and symptoms men- tioned above, plus having close contact with some- one with lab-confirmed COVID-19. High likelihood for exposure comes from activities such as living in a closed community, traveling, and participating in closed sports activity.
Although medical literatures initially showed that children were minimally susceptible to the original COVID-19 strain, the current evidence shows that
2020 will always be remembered as the world’s most wide- spread and deadly
pandemic. The World Health Organi- zation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic in March 2020, and soon afterward, all schools, restaurants, hotels, and local businesses closed in an effort to suppress the virus.
children can be victims of a COVID-19 variant called the Delta variant. Our healthcare workers should work with families to keep them updated with childhood immunizations, necessary vaccines, and the upcoming influenza vaccine for early fall. Here are some com- mon questions asked and some answers to help inform these families on current learnings and guidelines about COVID-19:
What are the recent guidelines for vaccination of kids and teenagers? Can children get vaccines? The clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines above twelve years of age have been approved. Several studies have been done by WHO in collaboration with FDA and CDC to recommend the vaccines in kids above twelve years of age.
What are the clinical symptoms of depression in children during pandemic? Look around at the chil- dren around you - some of them might be struggling with mental issues and can be hit hardest by the psychosocial impact from the pandemic. The full impact of quarantine, social isolation from friends, missing school lunches, job loss of parents or care- takers, and death of family members all together have brought a significant impact on children’s mental health. The factual statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health reveal that around one in five children in the United States are affected by this serious, debilitating mental illness. However, statis- tics have revealed that most of them recover com- pletely with early diagnosis and treatment.
What are the physical impacts of the pandemic?
Physical impacts of the pandemic include malnutri- tion due to under feeding, obesity due to inadequate proper nutritious food, a history of underlying diseas- es such as diabetes, hypertension, improper behav- iors and more.
What should parents, caretakers, school advisors, and mental health staff consider when dealing with COVID-19 and children?
1. Open communication is crucial with your child and their pediatrician, as well as connecting with other families and working with school systems.
2. Many students across the nation are dealing with sudden changes to their social lives and daily
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