4 ms·

Like my children? lol no thanks.

by nvr219 5y ago

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
While I would have made the point differently than the GP—your children are not at serious risk from COVID because of their age. (They are at some risk—life involves risk—but it’s low.) The people seriously at risk from COVID are unvaccinated adults.
- jzig 5y ago
  You don't have children.
- murgindrag 5y ago
  If you define "risk" as "hospitalization," that's largely true. If you define "risk" as months or years of bizarre symptoms, reduced lung capacity, brain fog, etc., then children are at risk too. But perhaps you don't care about that sort of thing.
  - stolenmerch 5y ago
    Most studies I've seen show "long covid" to be pretty rare in children. Perhaps something like 5% of children who test positive have mild symptoms a month later. [1] This is somewhat consistent with other respiratory virus infections we've known about. [2] It's possible our risk tolerance is way different but this is personally an acceptable number for me not to worry about my own child. [1] https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/long-covid-19-rare-children-study-says https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/long-cov... [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31718695/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31718695/
    - murgindrag 5y ago
      I don't think this represents most studies, but the far lower end. If we're going to cherry-pick, here's one which shows more than half of kids show at least one symptom 120 days out: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.23.21250375v1 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.23.21250375v... My best guess is that it's around 10%-20% -- that's sort of in the middle where studies land. I suspect a big part of the problem is which child and which COVID. I would speculate alpha, delta, mu, etc. all have different rates. I think the second question is the distribution of symptoms. None of the studies are sensitive enough to pick up a 5% loss in IQ, lung capacity, or similar. Do some kids get it and others don't? Or is there a bell curve of symptoms, and we're picking up kids with the more extreme versions? If it's a bell curve, it's pretty scary. All kids could be harmed to the level of e.g. lead exposure, and we wouldn't notice.
- ctvo 5y ago
  It’s not your place to decide the risk for other people’s children. No, not even you armchair virologist.
  - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
    But it is my place to decide whether to go out for coffee.
  - NoPicklez 5y ago
    To be fair, I think they're getting that advice from health experts. It is well known based on what our health professionals/experts have been saying that children are at a much lower risk. However, I am an advocate for not letting the virus rip through the unvaccinated. I like people alive and I like our hospital systems unburdened.
    - sjg007 5y ago
      The risk is higher than people want to admit: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/12/texas-rsv-covid-19-childrens-hospitals/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/12/texas-rsv-covid-19-c...
      - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
        Have you ever looked into how many children are hospitalized for the Flu? https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm#danger https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm#danger > CDC estimates that from the 2010-2011 season to the 2019-2020 season, flu-related hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years old have ranged from 7,000 to 26,000 in the United States. This risk, by the way, may also be higher than people want to admit. I think it's nuts how many schools don't require the annual flu vaccine, not to mention how few Americans get said vaccine in general. That said, the very real risk of the flu—which can also cause long-term complications—does not cause us to all upend our lives, nor should it.
        sjg007 5y ago
- sjg007 5y ago
  That kids are not at risk is not true and borders on misinformation. You only have to look at Texas and Florida as control studies for that.

Like my children? lol no thanks.

by nvr219 5y ago

Like my children? lol no thanks.

While I would have made the point differently than the GP—your children are not at serious risk from COVID because of their age. (They are at some risk—life involves risk—but it’s low.) The people seriously at risk from COVID are unvaccinated adults.

jzig 5y ago
You don't have children.
murgindrag 5y ago
If you define "risk" as "hospitalization," that's largely true. If you define "risk" as months or years of bizarre symptoms, reduced lung capacity, brain fog, etc., then children are at risk too. But perhaps you don't care about that sort of thing.
- stolenmerch 5y ago
  Most studies I've seen show "long covid" to be pretty rare in children. Perhaps something like 5% of children who test positive have mild symptoms a month later. [1] This is somewhat consistent with other respiratory virus infections we've known about. [2] It's possible our risk tolerance is way different but this is personally an acceptable number for me not to worry about my own child. [1] https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/long-covid-19-rare-children-study-says https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/news-perspective/2021/08/long-cov... [2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31718695/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31718695/
  - murgindrag 5y ago
    I don't think this represents most studies, but the far lower end. If we're going to cherry-pick, here's one which shows more than half of kids show at least one symptom 120 days out: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.23.21250375v1 https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.01.23.21250375v... My best guess is that it's around 10%-20% -- that's sort of in the middle where studies land. I suspect a big part of the problem is which child and which COVID. I would speculate alpha, delta, mu, etc. all have different rates. I think the second question is the distribution of symptoms. None of the studies are sensitive enough to pick up a 5% loss in IQ, lung capacity, or similar. Do some kids get it and others don't? Or is there a bell curve of symptoms, and we're picking up kids with the more extreme versions? If it's a bell curve, it's pretty scary. All kids could be harmed to the level of e.g. lead exposure, and we wouldn't notice.
ctvo 5y ago
It’s not your place to decide the risk for other people’s children. No, not even you armchair virologist.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  But it is my place to decide whether to go out for coffee.
- NoPicklez 5y ago
  To be fair, I think they're getting that advice from health experts. It is well known based on what our health professionals/experts have been saying that children are at a much lower risk. However, I am an advocate for not letting the virus rip through the unvaccinated. I like people alive and I like our hospital systems unburdened.
  - sjg007 5y ago
    The risk is higher than people want to admit: https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/12/texas-rsv-covid-19-childrens-hospitals/ https://www.texastribune.org/2021/08/12/texas-rsv-covid-19-c...
    - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
      Have you ever looked into how many children are hospitalized for the Flu? https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm#danger https://www.cdc.gov/flu/highrisk/children.htm#danger > CDC estimates that from the 2010-2011 season to the 2019-2020 season, flu-related hospitalizations among children younger than 5 years old have ranged from 7,000 to 26,000 in the United States. This risk, by the way, may also be higher than people want to admit. I think it's nuts how many schools don't require the annual flu vaccine, not to mention how few Americans get said vaccine in general. That said, the very real risk of the flu—which can also cause long-term complications—does not cause us to all upend our lives, nor should it.
      - sjg007 5y ago
sjg007 5y ago
That kids are not at risk is not true and borders on misinformation. You only have to look at Texas and Florida as control studies for that.