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A study published by researchers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine indicate children and teens may be half as likely to contract COVID-19 versus adults.

The study was published Tuesday in Nature Medicine (see here). The researchers surveyed participants in six countries: Canada, China, Italy, Singapore, and South Korea. The findings indicate youths have a reduced likelihood of being infected, and those that are usually are asymptomatic. Among the studied population, only 21% of those between the ages of 10 and 19 that were positive showed symptoms. That is compared to 69% of adults older than age 70. The authors do not confirm, but do reference, a popular theory that children are more immune due to cross-protection from other coronaviruses. 

A gap in the study however is the transmission rate between children or between children and adults. As governments decide on how to resume in-person schooling or social activities, there is a large gap in knowledge on how these types of communal activities spread COVID-19. While a lower health impact in children from COVID-19 is encouraging for resuming activities, unknowns about how easily adults can be infected from children in these settings make decisions complicated.