Impact of COVID-19 in Children and Teens
Just like adults, children and teens of all ages can:
- Get very sick from COVID-19
- Have both short- and long-term health problems
- Spread COVID-19 to others
There is no way to tell in advance how children or teens will be affected by COVID-19. Those with underlying medical conditions or who have a weakened immune system are more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19. Some examples of conditions that can make children more likely to get severe COVID-19 include:
- Asthma or chronic lung disease
- Diabetes
- Obesity
- Sickle cell disease
However, those without underlying medical conditions can also experience severe illness and be hospitalized.
In fact, approximately 1 in 3 children younger than 18years old hospitalized with COVID-19 have no underlying conditions.
Vaccination Helps Prevent Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Associated with COVID-19
Children and teens who get COVID-19 can develop serious complications, such as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).MIS-C is a condition where different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, thousands of cases of MIS-C have been reported. Children ages 5 through 11 years are most frequently affected by MIS-C, with almost half of all reported cases occurring in children in this age group. In addition, Hispanic or Latino and non-Hispanic Black children are disproportionately affected by MIS-C.
COVID-19 vaccination reduced the likelihood of MIS-C in children ages 12 through 18 years by 91%. Data from July to December 2021 show that 95% of children ages 12 through 18 years hospitalized with MIS-C were not vaccinated. CDC is collecting data on how well COVID-19 vaccination works against MIS-C in younger children. As more children under 12 years old get vaccinated, CDC will be able to analyze and share those data.
The RHC currently has Moderna vaccine for 6 months to 5 years and 12 years and older.
Pfizer vaccine for ages 5-11 years and 12and older.
Janssen vaccine for 18 and older.
