CU Medicine Brochure

STILL IN THE GAME: CU Medicine vs COVID-19 7 Why Do Children Suffer Less From COVID-19? GaryWong learns from little patients Children have been less likely to contract COVID-19, and less likely to get sick when they do. Prof. Gary Wong of the Department of Paediatrics wants to know why. Noticing these trends early in the outbreak, Professor Wong early in the pandemic headed the first study team to examine how the disease was affecting infected children. The Chinese Paediatric Novel Coronavirus study team led by Professor Wong looked at the epi- demiologic characteristics, clinical features and radiologic findings of infected children at the early stages of the pandemic. The epidemiology of juvenile cases of COVID-19 helped deliver insights into the underlying immune response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus and its severity. In contrast with adults, most infected children have a milder clinical course typified by cough, fatigue, muscle pain, vomiting and diarrhea. Fever is only found in about half of the infected children. Professor Wong saw his findings published in The New England Journal of Medicine . He then took his study further, providing recommendations on how to manage and treat children with pre-existing conditions such as asthma.