Fauci: US must not be ‘cavalier’ in thinking children immune to virus

The United States must not be “cavalier” in assuming children are immune to the coronavirus, the country’s top expert on infectious diseases said on Tuesday, pointing to cases of a dangerous paediatric illness likely linked to the virus.

Anthony Fauci urged caution about reopening schools this autumn, after Senator Rand Paul said it was “ridiculous” to keep them closed as children were not seriously affected by the virus.

“We don’t know everything about this virus and we really better be pretty careful, particularly when it comes to children,” Fauci told a Senate hearing, while acknowledging that they generally fare better than adults with the virus.

“I think we better be careful [that] we are not cavalier in thinking that children are completely immune from the deleterious effects.”

He said scientists are still learning more about “what this virus can do that we didn’t see from the studies in China or in Europe.”

Fauci pointed to a “very strange” syndrome that doctors are seeing in a small but growing number of very young coronavirus patients.

Around 100 children in New York have been hospitalized with the ailment, which health officials have labelled “multi-system inflammatory syndrome associated with Covid-19,” the state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

At least three children in the state have died from it, he said.

“This is a truly disturbing situation,” Cuomo told a daily press conference. “And I know parents around the state and around the country are very concerned about this, and they should be.”

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The syndrome has features similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare childhood condition that involves fever and inflamed blood vessels, according to officials. Symptoms can include fever, abdominal pain and rash.

Cases have also been reported in other US states, including New Jersey, California and Connecticut, as well as in Britain and several European countries. (dpa)