Kids under 10 less likely to drive COVID-19 outbreaks: Study

In a fight against novel coronavirus, the researchers have found that children, especially below 10 years, are not a major source of transmission of COVID-19.

The research team from McMaster University in Canada provides high-quality summaries of research evidence to support public health professionals and policymakers in making evidence-based decisions.

"The bottom line thus far is that children under 10 years of age are unlikely to drive outbreaks of COVID-19 in daycares and schools and that, to date, adults were much more likely to be the transmitter of infection than children," said study researcher Sarah Neil-Sztramko from the McMaster University.

The review found among children who were infected, the transmission was traced back to the community and home settings or adults, rather than amongst children within daycares or schools even in jurisdictions where schools remained open or have since reopened.

"Within household clusters, adults were much more likely to be the index case than children. The quality of evidence is moderate, and the findings are consistent," the authors said.

The review included consideration of 33 research publications. In the second research, the review also found that families are undergoing considerable stress during the pandemic.

"We found that families are under strain, especially female caregivers and children, with increasing gender gaps in employment and household labour and poor mental health outcomes in children," said Neil-Sztramko.

The researchers also found gender gaps in employment between women and men have grown during the pandemic, with women more than men experiencing reduced hours and job losses.

Women and higher-income earners are more likely to be in occupations that could be done from home, and among parents who can work from home, mothers reduced their work hours more than fathers, particularly mothers of primary school-aged children.

"We recognised early on that there was a significant need to summarise the overwhelming amount of research evidence emerging on COVID-19, appraise its quality, and distribute widely that evidence to support public health decision making in Canada," the authors wrote.

Recently, another study published in The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health journal, revealed that mothers with COVID-19 infection are unlikely to pass the virus to their newborn if correct hygiene precautions are observed.