In this March article published by The Washington Post, authors William Wan and Joel Achenbach explore the viable reasons why the novel coronavirus is leaving children virtually untouched. Was it the immune system that determined who lives or dies?

Vineet Mernachery, a virologist from the University of Texas Medical Branch says critical cases may be due to the dysregulation of the immune system which causes the immune system to overreact. 

Meanwhile, Frank Esper from the Cleveland Children’s Clinic says that the difference could be in the receptors in children’s bodies. 

Editor’s Note: More recent data continues to support the findings of this March article. Children under the age of 18 are less likely to experience the typical symptoms of infection, including fever, cough, and difficulty breathing. They are also less likely to need hospitalization and less likely to die of COVID-19.

It must be noted, however, that one cannot write off critical cases in children. Indeed, a small percentage of children below 16 are developing severe symptoms but there is no data that can pinpoint to the cause [we shall study this more in future articles on this website].

Read Original Article