set out to assess the effectiveness of maternal vaccination against hospitalisation for COVID-19 among infants under 6 months of age but this time , when Omicron was the main circulating variant . To determine the effectiveness of maternal vaccination , researchers compared the odds of full maternal vaccination ( that is , receipt of two doses of mRNA vaccine ) during pregnancy among symptomatic infants younger than 6 months of age who were hospitalised for COVID-19 ( referred to as case infants ) and infants younger than 6 months of age who were hospitalised without COVID-19 ( referred to as control infants ). The researchers collected information on COVID-19-related outcomes in addition to hospitalisation , such as admission to an intensive care unit ( ICU ) and life-support interventions , for example , non-invasive or invasive mechanical ventilation .
A total of 1049 infants ( 537 case infants ) with a median age of 2 months ( 43.5 % female ) were included in the analysis . Among case infants , 19 % had at least one underlying health condition , which included respiratory ( 6 %), cardiovascular ( 8 %) and other ( not listed ) chronic conditions ( 10 %). In the case infant group , 84 % of mothers were unvaccinated at the time of the study .
Among the 537 case infants , 21 % were admitted to an ICU and 12 % required mechanical ventilation or vasoactive infusions . However , the incidence of ICU admission and the need for invasive procedures was much lower if the mother had been vaccinated . For example , ICU admissions were much lower ( 23 % vs 13 %, vaccinated vs unvaccinated mothers ), as was the need for non-invasive mechanical ventilation ( 8 % vs 6 %, vaccinated vs unvaccinated mothers ).
The overall vaccine effectiveness of maternal vaccination against COVID-related hospitalisation among infants was 52 %; however , vaccination was only 38 % during the Omicron period . The effectiveness was also found to be dependent on the stage of pregnancy . For example , effectiveness was 69 % when given after 20 weeks of pregnancy but only 38 % when given during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy .
The authors concluded that their data provided additional support for current recommendations to vaccinate pregnant women .
References 1 Lipkind HS . Receipt of COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy and Preterm or Small-for-Gestational-Age at Birth - Eight Integrated Health Care Organizations , United States , December 15 , 2020 – July 22 , 2021 . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 ; 71 ( 1 ): 26 – 30 . 2 Halasa NB et al . Effectiveness of Maternal Vaccination with mRNA COVID-19 Vaccine During Pregnancy Against COVID- 19-Associated Hospitalization in Infants Aged < 6 Months - 17 States , July 2021 – January 2022 . MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2022 ; 71 ( 7 ): 264 – 70 . 3 Halasa NB et al . Maternal Vaccination and Risk of Hospitalization for Covid-19 among Infants . N Engl J Med 2022 ; June 22 .
A quarter of children / adolescents experience long COVID
A systemic review and meta-analysis has found that just over 25 % of children and adolescents experienced symptoms that persisted for longer than 4 weeks after an acute COVID-19 infection .
For much of the time during the COVID-19 pandemic , attention focused on the acute phase of infection . However , it has now become clear that many individuals continue to experience ongoing and debilitating symptoms , which have become known as long COVID . Although severe COVID-19 infections are now recognised as being far less common in children than adults , children are known to develop multi-system inflammatory syndrome , in which different parts of the body become inflamed . In addition , long COVID , in which symptoms either persist or where new symptoms appear , has also been identified in children . In 2021 , the World Health Organization proposed a definition of what they termed ‘ post-COVID-19 ’ as a ‘ condition that occurs in individuals with a history of probable or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection , usually 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 with symptoms that last for at least 2 months and cannot be explained by an alternative diagnosis .’ 1 However , while research on the prevalence of post-COVID-19 ( that is , long COVID ) has focused on adults , less attention has been paid to the level of this syndrome in children .
For the present study , 2 researchers turned their attention to children , not just to ascertain the prevalence of long COVID but also to gather information on the full spectrum of symptoms experienced . They performed a systematic review and metaanalysis and searched for studies that reported on individuals under 18 years of age and with
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