Children contributing to spread and evolution of COVID-19: research
New research suggests that children are contributing to how quickly COVID-19 variants evolve due to new evidence of how they can spread the virus.
Several U.S hospitals and medical schools studied data from Alberta, Ontario and Quebec. They examined age, symptom duration and the severity of the illness in children.
“In the initial stages (of the pandemic) we thought children younger than eight would be less likely to spread (COVID-19),” said Dr. Tehseen Ladha, a pediatrician. “That theory has been debunked over and over.
“We see in this particular study that children carry very high viral loads within their respiratory passages and that’s one of the factors in transmitting COVID.”
Children tend to be less likely to have severe COVID-19 symptoms, but they are able to spread it to someone more likely to have a severe outcome, according to Ladha.
“It’s so important to address the transmission of COVID amongst kids, because many people say if children are less likely to get severe side effects, why do we need to vaccinate them, why do we need to implement safety measures in schools for them,” said Ladha.
“If we don’t control transmission among children the virus will continue to circulate, it will continue to mutate and it will continue to infect the whole community, not just the children.”
Ladha is calling for more measures in schools to decrease transmission, including mandatory quarantining for close contacts of positive cases, more rapid testing and mask mandates in Kindergarten to Grade 3 children.
“There’s a number of gaps where transmission can occur and is occurring and we see that by the number of outbreaks that have been declared and the number of students that have been infected and, frankly, by the number of patients I am seeing in clinic right now that have COVID,” said Ladha.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Police investigating shooting outside of Drake's Bridle Path mansion: source
Toronto police are investigating a shooting that took place outside of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion early Tuesday morning, a source tells CP24.
There's actually no such thing as vegetables. Here's why you should eat them anyway
The rumours are true: Vegetables aren't real — that is, in botany, anyway. While the term fruit is recognized botanically as anything that contains a seed or seeds, vegetable is actually a broad umbrella term.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
The Met Gala was in full bloom with Zendaya, Jennifer Lopez, Mindy Kaling among the standout stars
The Met Gala and its fashionista A-listers on Monday included Jennifer Lopez, Zendaya and a parade of others in a swirl of flora and fauna looks on a green-tinged carpet lined by live foliage.
3 Indian nationals accused of murdering Hardeep Singh Nijjar facing court in B.C.
Three Indian nationals accused of murdering Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar are due to face court Tuesday over the killing that triggered a major diplomatic rift with India.
Israeli forces seize Rafah border crossing in Gaza, putting ceasefire talks on knife's edge
Israeli tanks seized control of Gaza's vital Rafah border crossing on Tuesday as Israel brushed off urgent warnings from close allies and moved into the southern city even as cease-fire negotiations with Hamas remained on a knife's edge.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.
Highlights from the 2024 Met Gala exhibit: Sleeping Beauty would wake up for these gowns
Sure, she was a royal princess and all. But there’s no way Sleeping Beauty — either before or after her nap — ever had quite the fabulous wardrobe that’s been assembled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Noelia Voigt resigns as Miss USA, citing her mental health
Noelia Voigt, who was crowned Miss USA in November 2023, has announced she is resigning from her role, saying the decision is in the best interest of her mental health.