Policies on children and schools during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Western Europe

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Frederik Schaltz-Buchholzer¹  Aida Perramon-Malavez²  Petra Zimmermann³  Otto Helve⁴  Louise Emilsson⁵  Despoina Gkentzi⁶  Maria Mossberg⁷  Pierre R. Smeesters⁸  Danilo Buonsenso⁹  Ana Brett^1,10  Cihan Papan^1,11  Taulant Muka^1,12  Alasdair Munro^1,13  Antoni Soriano-Arandes^1,14  Isabel de la Fuente Garcia^1,15  Kasper P. Kepp^1,16 

[1]Bandim Health Project, Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark

[2]Computational Biology and Complex Systems (BIOCOM-SC) Group, Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC·BarcelonaTech), Barcelona, Spain

[3]Department of Community Health, Faculty of Science and Medicine, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland

[4]Department of Paediatrics, Fribourg Hospital, Fribourg, Switzerland

[5]Department of Health Security, Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland

[6]Pediatric Research Center, Children's Hospital, Helsinki University Hospital, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

[7]Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden

[8]Department of General Practice, Institute of Health and Society, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

[9]Department of Paediatrics, Patras Medical School, Patras, Greece

[10]Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Sciences Lund, Lund University, Lund, Sweden

[11]Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Brussels, Academic Children’s Hospital Queen Fabiola, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

[12]Molecular Bacteriology Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

[13]Department of Woman and Child Health and Public Health, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS, Milan, Italy

[14]Infectious Diseases Unit and Emergency Service, Hospital Pediátrico, Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

[15]Institute for Hygiene and Public Health, University Hospital Bonn, Bonn, Germany

[16]Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

[17]Epistudia, Bern, Switzerland

[18]NIHR Southampton Clinical Research Facility and Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom

[19]Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom

[20]Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Immunodeficiencies Unit, Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron, Barcelona, Spain

[21]Pediatric Infectious Diseases, National Pediatric Center, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg, Luxembourg

[22]Section of Biophysical and Biomedicinal Chemistry, DTU Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby, Denmark

关键词: COVID-19;    children;    mitigation;    masks;    vaccination;    school closure;    testing;    ventilation;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1175444

 received in 2023-02-27, accepted in 2023-06-26,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

During the pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), mitigation policies for children have been a topic of considerable uncertainty and debate. Although some children have co-morbidities which increase their risk for severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and complications such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome and long COVID, most children only get mild COVID-19. On the other hand, consistent evidence shows that mass mitigation measures had enormous adverse impacts on children. A central question can thus be posed: What amount of mitigation should children bear, in response to a disease that is disproportionally affecting older people? In this review, we analyze the distinct child versus adult epidemiology, policies, mitigation trade-offs and outcomes in children in Western Europe. The highly heterogenous European policies applied to children compared to adults did not lead to significant measurable differences in outcomes. Remarkably, the relative epidemiological importance of transmission from school-age children to other age groups remains uncertain, with current evidence suggesting that schools often follow, rather than lead, community transmission. Important learning points for future pandemics are summarized.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Soriano-Arandes, Brett, Buonsenso, Emilsson, de la Fuente Garcia, Gkentzi, Helve, Kepp, Mossberg, Muka, Munro, Papan, Perramon-Malavez, Schaltz-Buchholzer, Smeesters and Zimmermann.