'Ethnic minority children more likely to be impacted by Covid-19'

ETHNIC minority children are more likely to test positive for Covid-19 and end up in hospital, says a recent UK study, suggesting a link between race and outcome of Covid-19 among children. 

Published in JAMA Pediatrics, the study, which is claimed to be the largest observational study yet on Covid-19 in children, has found in its analysis that as compared with white children, the odds of a positive test were higher in children from Asian origin (1.8 times more likely), black (1.12 times more likely) and mixed/other ethnicity (1.14 times more likely) backgrounds.

Asian children were 1.62 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with confirmed Covid-19 compared with white counterparts while BAME community children were also more likely to remain in hospital for 36 hours or longer, as per the study.

Race was also associated with ICU admissions as Asian children had a significantly higher odds ratio for Covid-19 ICU admissions compared with White children. 

In their study, a research team from the Universities of Oxford, Leicester, Nottingham, Cambridge and Southampton analysed a nationally-representative sample of 2.6 million children’s healthcare records to understand the link between ethnicity and Covid-19 in children.

Lead author Dr Defne Saatci, a DPhil student in the University of Oxford’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said that the study highlights disparities in testing, infection rates and hospitalisation linked to ethnic minority children and has important implications for families, doctors and policymakers.

Co-author Professor Julia Hippisley-Cox, lead of the Primary Care Epidemiology Group at Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, said that this study suggests that race and ethnicity play an important role in “outcomes for Covid-19 across all age groups”.

“Our findings reinforce the need for ethnicity-tailored approaches to diagnosing and managing Covid-19 in community settings, so those families at most risk of severe illness are better informed and have greater access to tests.”

The findings come after experts reportedly warned that children under 18 will become a “reservoir” for the Delta variant as they were the only age group not currently eligible for vaccination.