Sulaiman, F; Hamid, E; Muhajarine, N; Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. How has COVID-19 and the public health response to COVID-19 impacted mental health outcomes on children 5 to 18 years (school-age)? 2021 Jun 09, Document no.: PH021701 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2021. (CEST table).
Cohort studies identified worsening mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), and other subjective mental health measures.
Cross-sectional studies reported post-pandemic prevalence rates of 7%-44% for depression, 6%-47.5% for anxiety, and 3%-22% for PTSD. Worsening sleep quality and increased frequency of substance use were also reported. Effects on self-harm and suicidality are inconclusive.
Risk factors for worsening mental health included identifying as female, older age or higher school grade, and increased use of technology or social media. Exercise was found to be protective.
Sulaiman, F; Hamid, E; Muhajarine, N; Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. How has COVID-19 and the public health response to COVID-19 impacted mental health outcomes on children 5 to 18 years (school-age)? 2021 Jun 09, Document no.: PH021701 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2021. 18 p. (CEST rapid review report).
Dalidowicz, M; Mueller, M. How has COVID-19 and the public health response to COVID-19 impacted mental health outcomes on children 5 to 18 years (school-age)? 2022 Mar 11, Document no.: PH021701v003 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. 92 p. (CEST evidence search report).
Badea, A; Reeder, B; Groot, G; Dalidowicz, M; Fox, L. Is there evidence that children under 18 should receive an mRNA vaccine booster/3rd dose? 2022 Feb 04, Document no.: EOC220102 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. (CEST table).
The CDC has released a recommendation that all adolescents 12-17 be offered booster vaccines using only the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, at least 5 months following the primary series
The CDC guidelines follow the review of unpublished Israeli data of 12-15 year olds vaccinated 5-6 months prior showing an equivalent infection rate to unvaccinated, and that those who receive boosters are at about 1/3 of the risk
Health Canada has not yet approved booster doses for general use in 12-17 year olds, however NACI has recommended that boosters, at least 6 months following the primary series, should be considered for the following groups within that age group
o Those with an underlying medical condition at high risk of severe illness due to COVID-19 (including those who are immunocompromised and received a 3-dose primary series)
o Those who are residents in congregate settings (e.g. shelters, group homes, quarters for migrant workers, correctional facilities)
o Those who belong to racialized and/or marginalized communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19
Badea, A; Reeder, B; Groot, G; Dalidowicz, M; Fox, L. Is there evidence that children under 18 should receive the booster to increase their immunity? 2022 Feb 04, Document no.: EOC220102 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. 8 p. (CEST rapid review report).
Dalidowicz, M; Fox, L. Is there evidence that children under 18 should receive the booster to increase their immunity? 2022 Apr 06, Document no.: EOC220102v002 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2022. 11 p. (CEST rapid review report).
Pediatric cases of COVID-19 constitute between 1% to 10% of all confirmed cases of COVID-19; variation exists by jurisdiction.
Few case reports exist of confirmed child-to-other transmission. Contact tracing studies suggest that children are unlikely to be transmitters of the disease. Households are the most likely environments for transmission.
A recent large South Korean contact tracing study however (in pre-print) found that household COVID-19 transmission rates for children age 10-19 were significantly higher than in adults; transmission rates for children age 0-9 were relatively low.
AUGUST 7th, 2020 UPDATE: No new studies examining secondary attack rates of pediatric index cases were found. Studies continue to suggest low transmission from pediatric cases, and high proportion of pediatric cases being asymptomatic to mildly symptomatic.
MARCH 9th, 2021 UPDATE: Variants of Concerns are an emerging threat, but literature on pediatric prevalence and transmissibility is sparse. The British variant seems more transmissible (secondary attack rate higher) but follows the same age-related distribution of cases seen earlier in the pandemic.
Sulaiman, F; Coomaran, V; Muhajarine, N; Dalidowicz, M; Miller, L. What are the effects of the new COVID variants on transmission and school reopenings in pediatric populations? 2021 Mar 30; Document no.: PH030801 RR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 14p. (CEST rapid review report)
Howell-Spooner, B., Mueller, M. What are the effects of the new COVID variants on transmission and school reopenings in pediatric populations? 2021 Aug 18, Document no.: PH030801v2 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2021. 49 p. (CEST evidence search report).
Howell-Spooner, B; Dalidowicz, M. What are the ethical principles that underlie pediatric triage protocols? 2020 Jul 2; Document no.: CAC061802-01 ESR. In: COVID-19 Rapid Evidence Reviews [Internet]. SK: SK COVID Evidence Support Team, c2020. 24 p. (CEST evidence search report)
· Key principles for the development of triage scoring systems are 1. Urgency 2. Survival 3. Likelihood of rapid benefit
· Triage algorithms should be transparent and accessible, developed by teams with multiple perspectives/expertise
· When all factors are equal, allocation should proceed by random/lottery assignment
· Must balance egalitarian and utilitarian ideologies – providing equitable access while also providing the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people
