The Vietnamese Ministry of Health has warned that new Omicron variant is not causing more severe infections, but is infecting many more children. Especially, unvaccinated children are more susceptible to contracting COVID-19. Luckily most cases of COVID-19 in children are mild that are eligible for home-based care and very few require hospitalization. Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 are generally milder in children compared with adults. However, an acute presentation with a hyperinflammatory syndrome leading to multiorgan failure and shock has been reported, described as multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with COVID-19 in children and adolescents. Underlying conditions with severe illness in children appear to be similar to adults.

Two main child groups with COVID-19 are eligible for home-based care in line with the recommendations of the Health Ministry. The first group consists of infected children who have been discharged into care home after being treated at hospital but still test positive for COVID-19 while the second one consists of child patients with low-risk COVID-19 pneumonia.

Children who test positive for COVID-19 and have mild or no symptoms can usually be cared for safely at home, provided they are not at risk of severe disease.

Monitor yourself and others in your home for any symptoms of COVID-19 – including fever, sore throat, muscle or body ache, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea, shortness of breath dry cough or tiredness. For children the symptoms might vary. Infants’ symptoms can include difficulty in feeding, fast breathing and lethargy. Some symptoms depend on age. You should seek urgent care if a baby is unable to breastfeed, if a young child has a high fever, or if a child suddenly appears confused, refuses to eat, or if their face or lips turn blue.

COVID-19 infection is generally milder in children than in adults, and a substantial proportion of children with the disease have asymptomatic infection.

Most children with COVID-19 will not require any specific therapy.

However, children who have a history of medical complexity (e.g., due to developmental delays, or genetic syndromes), obesity, chronic cardiopulmonary disease, inherited metabolic disorders, bronchial asthma or who are immunocompromised may be at increased risk for severe disease.

In addition, preterm birth and low birth weight are identified as potential risk factors for severe COVID-19 in children.

The signs and symptoms of COVID-19 infection in children may be similar to those in adults, but most children may be asymptomatic or only have a few symptoms. The most common signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in hospitalized children are fever, nausea/vomiting, cough, shortness of breath, and upper respiratory symptoms. The majority of children with mild or moderate COVID-19 will not progress to more severe illness and thus should be managed with supportive care at home.

However, the number of children infected with COVID-19 has recently been increasing. The majority of children with COVID-19 are asymptomatic or mild with upper respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms (over 55 per cent), moderate (40 per cent), severe (4 per cent) and critical (0.5 per cent).

Infants under 12 months are at higher risk for severe illness. Children with COVID-19 usually have mild symptoms, and hospitalisation and death rates are low compared to adults.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) with COVID-19 is rare, occurring between two and six weeks after COVID-19 infection. This is a serious complication that can be fatal and tends to increase, the Health Ministry warns.

Reporting by H.D – translating by H.L