> Covid was never thought to be risky for children, especially under 5s, even when we didn't have a vaccine. This is likely correct, but > Omicron is much les

> Covid was never thought to be risky for children, especially under 5s, even when we didn't have a vaccine. This is likely correct, but > Omicron is much less risky than other kinds of covid. There's some indication (though no solid proof) that the jump in child hospitalizations is due to omicron being _more_ severe in children. The proposed mechanism is that its focus on the upper respiratory system instead of the lungs makes it less severe for us and worse for young children (in line with other childhood diseases that are generally taken somewhat seriously).