While some things about the new coronavirus are known – such as the risk it poses to older adults – other things remain a mystery, including whether children who have the virus but aren’t showing symptoms are helping to fuel the spread.
Some pediatric experts are urging parents to keep even seemingly healthy kids away from their grandparents and seniors until the pandemic subsides and COVID-19 is better understood.
“We really don’t know the role that children play in transmission of disease to older people – those data just don’t exist,” said Dr. Kathryn Edwards, a professor and pediatric infectious diseases specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
But Edwards, who has eight grandchildren now out of school, said she won’t be pulling babysitting duty for a while. She acknowledged the possibility that children could have COVID-19 without the hallmark high fever and cough and unknowingly spread the virus.
“There are some reports that suggest you can give the infection if you don’t have symptoms at the time, but those data are mostly from adults,” she said. “This is a time when grandparents may need to say, ‘No, we need to isolate ourselves.’ We have to be very careful.”