COVID-19 has wreaked havoc across the world, but there is one saving grace – children appear to be largely unharmed by the virus.
So why is it children are spared from serious illness? The Australian Academy of Science has published a video asking University of Sydney professor Robert Booy this question, among others about how the virus affects kids.
Professor Booy is an expert in child and adolescent health, with an interest in understanding the genetic basis of susceptibility to, and severity of, infectious diseases.
Over the past 15 years, he’s been increasingly recognised as an expert in the respiratory virus field, supervising many studies addressing the burden and prevention of influenza disease in children and adults in the UK, Australia and among Muslim pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.
He answers the following questions:
- Why are few children contracting COVID-19?
- Do children have better immunity that adults?
- Can children be hosts and spread the virus?
- Can babies contract COVID-19?
- Why is there a 14-day quarantine period?
- Can COVID-19 be contracted by animals?
Find out Professor Booy’s answers by watching this video by the Australian Academy of Science.
