At least seven California children have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began, more than 350,000 have tested positive for the virus and the number of kids diagnosed with a new, rare inflammatory syndrome continues to grow.
All of these stats are on the rise just as a new highly contagious strain of the virus is worrying parents and experts alike, and as the state tries to move toward reopening schools next month.
“We are at a critical time because the overall number of cases of COVID are increasing so much,” said Dr. Jackie Szmuszkovicz, pediatric cardiologist at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles. “We are seeing more children with MIS-C the last few weeks following that big increase (of cases) in the community.”
MIS-C, or Multi-system Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, is the name of a new inflammatory syndrome that afflicts a small number of kids three to six weeks after they experienced coronavirus, even if they had mild or no symptoms at all.
While children have been spared some of the worst effects of the coronavirus and the high death toll seen among adults, the youngest Californians are still at-risk, especially given the current surge. Kids usually experience mild to no symptoms of the infection but it’s what happens to a small number of them a few weeks afterward that has doctors worried. Pediatric doctors are preparing for a wave of inflammatory syndrome cases three to six weeks after the current surge especially with the new more transmissible variant, said Szmuszkovicz.
—Elizabeth Aguilera, CalMatters