Doctors are now saying that there are new symptoms in children with COVID-19 that they cannot exactly explained. We are almost at the one-year anniversary of when COVID-19 took over the globe, and we are still learning so much about it. The virus is “novel,” which means that it is new, so everyone is learning as they go, and this includes the experts. We have been under the impression that children rarely fall ill with serious side effects. More and more children are falling ill with COVID-19 as countries struggle to contain the spread of the virus.

According to News12 and CNN, health officials are starting to see pediatric cases of COVID-19, but they are presenting with symptoms that they are not familiar with. This comes as many countries face their second wave of the virus, along with new variants that are being discovered in different countries.

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The children in question range in age from 5 to 12, and they are presenting with more gastrointestinal problems. These symptoms are much like vomiting and dehydration. Doctors have also stated that they are starting to see more respiratory symptoms among children, symptoms they were only seeing in adults before. What makes this even more concerning, is that doctors are not completely sure why children are appearing sicker now than they were in the beginning.

There are some speculations that this could be due to the new variants that are being found in the UK and South Africa. They know that in those countries, children were getting sicker than they were with COVID-19. This causes a ripple of complications, including the questionable reopening of schools across the country. If this is due to the new variant, it is alarming because the new variants are showing to be more contagious, which means it could easily pass to more children at a higher rate.

The recommendations for keeping children safe have not changed since this pandemic started. It is still advised that children (who are old enough) wear a face mask when they are in public, wash their hands often, and stay distanced from others.

The pandemic has been hard on children, and a lot of them are experiencing “pandemic fatigue” and they just want to go back to school and see their friends. However, it is vital that parent’s work to keep their children safe, while experts work to try and figure out these new symptoms and how it affects children.

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Sources: CNN, News12