COVID-19: Frequently asked questions

Newborns and infants are at slightly higher risk than older children, but this is still very low compared to elderly people.

Newborn infections overseas have generally been through an infected parent or hospital worker, so ensure you continue to maintain good personal and hand hygiene at all times when around newborns.

Yes, children can have an asymptomatic infection, meaning they can have COVID-19 and not have any symptoms. It is common for children to have no or only mild symptoms of COVID-19.

Children who have more severe symptoms are more likely to transmit COVID-19 to others, however, children with mild or no illness can still transmit it to others.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is similar in its infection pattern to SARS, which emerged in 2003. SARS also infected fewer young people and gave them milder symptoms than adults. Other infectious diseases with similar patterns include chickenpox and the Epstein-Barr virus.

In contrast, the influenza strains affect children more severely and are more readily spread by children and young people. It is especially important that children receive their annual influenza vaccination, and maintain their childhood vaccination schedule.

Although children are generally at low-risk, children with existing illnesses and a lower health 'baseline' are probably at increased risk. These include immunocompromised children and children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Similar to adults with underlying health issues (called co-morbidities), children with co-morbidities seem to be at a slightly higher risk of having more severe COVID-19 symptoms.

For this reason, it is important to be vaccinated if possible, take extra care to practice social distancing and ensure everyone in the household maintains good personal hygiene.

Immunocompromised children are more at risk of experiencing severe symptoms if they contract a respiratory infection.

For this reason, it is important to be vaccinated if possible, to take extra care to practice social distancing and ensure everyone in the household maintains good personal hygiene.

If your child has previously been treated for or hospitalised for pneumonia, the lungs usually recover completely.

Childhood is a period of massive growth of new lung tissue, and if the infection has entirely cleared up they should not be at a significantly greater risk than otherwise healthy children.

Any disease that reduces lung function confers increased risk during a respiratory infection. Ensure you have an adequate supply of your child’s asthma medications and follow prevention and treatment schedules.

For this reason, it is important to be vaccinated if possible, take extra care to practice social distancing and ensure everyone in the household maintains good personal hygiene. If your child is experiencing breathing difficulties see your family doctor or call an ambulance on 000.

Read more on asthma and COVID-19 from respiratory physician Dr Danielle Wurzel (article published May 8 2020).

Overall, COVID-19 in children is mild. Infants might be at higher risk of severe illness with COVID-19 than older children.

This is likely due to their undeveloped immune systems and smaller airways, which make them more likely to develop breathing issues with respiratory virus infections.

Newborns and infants are at slightly higher risk than older children, but this is still very low compared to elderly people.

Newborn infections overseas have generally been through an infected parent or hospital worker, so ensure you continue to maintain good personal and hand hygiene at all times when around newborns.

It is extremely unlikely you can pass COVID-19 to your foetus during pregnancy; however it is possible.

If you are infected while pregnant, your maternal health team will monitor your health and the foetus' health with extra vigilance to ensure the best outcomes.

If your child is eligible to receive a vaccine, vaccination is the best way to protect your child from getting COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccination will not only help protect people from getting COVID-19 but will also reduce their likelihood of having severe symptoms if they do get COVID-19.

While children generally show only mild symptoms, it is important to try to avoid infection to minimise any risk. If your child is unable to receive a vaccine yet, ensuring the rest of the household is vaccinated is a great way to protect them.

It is also important to practice social distancing and ensure everyone in the household maintains good personal hygiene.

Everyone in Australia aged 12 years and over can receive a free COVID-19 vaccination. Children aged 5-11 years are expected to be able to access the Pfizer for children COVID-19 vaccine from January 2022.

Vaccine trials are still underway in children under 5 years to determine if they are safe and effective.

Children and adults may have some side effects from the vaccine, which are normal. Common side effects of vaccination include pain, redness, or swelling at the injection site; tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea.

Side effects after the second shot may be more intense than the ones experienced after the first shot, but they are normal and should go away in a few days. You should call your doctor if any side effects are worrying or do not seem to be going away after a few days.

Rarely, cases of myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle) and pericarditis (inflammation of the outer lining of the heart) in adolescents and young adults have been reported after vaccination.

These are more common: after the second dose, in males adolescents and young adults, within one week after vaccination. Most patients with myocarditis or pericarditis who received care felt better quickly. 

Take care of your child as you would with any other respiratory illness. You should also monitor your child’s symptoms, and in the rare chance they have more severe symptoms like shortness of breath, take them to hospital.

There is no specific treatment for COVID-19. If your child is diagnosed with COVID-19 and is uncomfortable, you may treat them as you would with any cold or flu. 

More information

• COVID-19 - Royal Children's Hospital

 

To avoid infecting each other, it is a good idea to wipe down common surfaces frequently with an alcohol-based sanitiser or soap and water, wash hands often and well, use separate toilets where possible and sleep in a separate room.

Luckily COVID-19 appears to only rarely produce severe symptoms in children, and they also recover quickly.

Some early data, looking at the long-term effects of COVID-19 in children, shows that long-term symptoms of COVID-19 (lasting more than 4-6 weeks) for children are rare.

PIMS-TS (Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally associated with SARS-COV-2) is a rare condition that can occur a few weeks after COVID-19 infection.

The risk for an individual child is extremely low, but in a very small number of cases, it can be serious. Common symptoms of PIMS-TS are:

• fever
• abdominal pain
• vomiting
• diarrhoea
• rash
• irritability, and
• red eyes

Be as vigilant as you normally would be in the event of a sudden severe illness. The most important thing is to remember that any child who is seriously unwell needs to be treated quickly, whatever the illness. If in doubt, call an ambulance on 000.

The only way to know your child has COVID-19 is to receive a diagnosis after a COVID-19 test. You can get a regular test at any testing site, to determine whether your child has COVID-19.

If you are in Victoria, you can use the Victorian Department of Health Website to find your local testing site. Rapid tests are also available, which can be purchased from chemists.

If symptoms are mild, visit a Respiratory Infection clinic in your area. If symptoms are severe, such as your child having difficulty breathing, call an ambulance immediately on 000.

Visiting grandparents does involve an element of risk, given they have a higher risk of experiencing more severe symptoms if they do become infected.

Vaccinating those who are eligible is a great way to protect your grandparents from getting sick.