Coronavirus: New York paediatrician warns 80% of children in the city are infected: Independent

Bilal Raza

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
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A New York paediatrician has warned that 80 per cent of children in the city could be infected with Covid-19.

Dr Dyan Hes, a paediatrician with Gramercy Pediatrics, in New York City, told CBSN’s Anne-Marie Green and Vladimir Duthiers that children are not getting tested for coronavirus.

The doctor said that despite many children showing symptoms for Covid-19, it is impossible for them to be tested.

“We have zero tests for children. We have zero swabs,” she said. “I’ve had patients whose parents have Covid, child has a 102.5 fever. At the beginning when we were doing this, we were sending them to the ER.

She added that “they got turned away. They were not tested because we do not have enough tests and the kids are doing well”.


A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), published last week, found that only 1.7% of Covid-19 cases, where the person’s age was known, occurred in children under the age of 18.

Speaking on Tuesday, Dr Hes disputed those figures and said the lack of testing in children means that the real figures will be much higher than reported by the CDC.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1250107975622107139
“I don’t mean to be rude, but the numbers are totally wrong,” Dr Hes said. “I think that probably 80% of the children have coronavirus. We are not testing children.”

“I’m in New York City. I can’t get my patients tested. And we have to assume, if they are sick, they have coronavirus. Most of them, probably 80 to 90% of them, are asymptomatic. So, these numbers are so skewed.”

Dr Hes added that the statistics are not only skewed on the amount of cases, but also on the mortality rate of children who contract Covid-19.

“I think that the mortality rate is way, way less than 0.5% for children who have it because it is so prevalent. You have to remember thousands of kids die from flu a year. This is much, much less virulent in children,” she said.

Google’s dedicated coronavirus page shows that New York City has upwards of 110,425 positive cases and at least 10,367 deaths.

According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, the US has upwards of 610,774 people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 26,119.


 

ILUIK

MPA (400+ posts)
she is totally confused.
she is assuming 80% children may be corona +ve. if that is the case and children are doing well, not many symptoms, no mortality then thats ideal scenario- means that age group is almost immune-there isnt any point in testing well people.
entire world is looking forward to achieve that kind of target, 80% of the adult population has the infection but are clinically well means we have achieved Herd immunity. that would mean end of lock down, back to normal and business as usual.
 
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Masud Javed

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
This makes sense
kids are infected but they aren't hit as hard
therefore you hardly see any kids in the hospitals
 

Aslan

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
she is totally confused.
she is assuming 80% children may be corona +ve. if that is the case and children are doing well, not many symptoms, no mortality then thats ideal scenario- means that age group is almost immune-there isnt any point in testing well people.
entire world is looking forward to achieve that kind of target, 80% of the adult population has the infection but are clinically well means we have achieved Herd immunity. that would mean end of lock down, back to normal and business as usual.
If the children are infected and don't show any symptoms then they will be spreading the virus to everyone who is in close contact with them.This is the scary bit about this virus.People who show no sign of any cough,fever or breathing are called asymtotic.They can pass the virus to others without knowing that they are positive.Ideally everyone should be tested but it is not possible to do it.There are not enough testing kits or staff and many countries can't afford it anyway.
 

ILUIK

MPA (400+ posts)
If the children are infected and don't show any symptoms then they will be spreading the virus to everyone who is in close contact with them.This is the scary bit about this virus.People who show no sign of any cough,fever or breathing are called asymtotic.They can pass the virus to others without knowing that they are positive.Ideally everyone should be tested but it is not possible to do it.There are not enough testing kits or staff and many countries can't afford it anyway.


sorry to disagree.
if children are showing no symptomatic then why test them- an argument could be to avoid spread in case they are positive as you mentioned- so how are these children supposed to be looked after by parents or carers even if they were found to be positive? cgildren are different than adults, cant look after themselves with activities of daily livind-its a very difficult equation, far from being an easy one. the argument was this pediatrician is saying 80% children may have covid +ve but as they are not unwell and not died thereisnt any point testing them as you can not isolate them , that wont change situation and wont help in any way, shape or form.
 

Aslan

Chief Minister (5k+ posts)
sorry to disagree.
if children are showing no symptomatic then why test them- an argument could be to avoid spread in case they are positive as you mentioned- so how are these children supposed to be looked after by parents or carers even if they were found to be positive? cgildren are different than adults, cant look after themselves with activities of daily livind-its a very difficult equation, far from being an easy one. the argument was this pediatrician is saying 80% children may have covid +ve but as they are not unwell and not died thereisnt any point testing them as you can not isolate them , that wont change situation and wont help in any way, shape or form.
If this paediatrician is right then America is in big trouble.These children will infect adults and old people around them.Schools in many countries were closed to stop the spread of the virus not because children felt ill.There is no easy solution to this problem.If an adult gets infect(by a child) He or she may recover or may die.
 
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