About 1 in 10 Israeli children experienced lasting symptoms of COVID-19 after recovering from their illnesses, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
The findings of a telephone survey conducted in late May-June 2021 were from 13,834 parents of children aged 3 to 18 who recovered from COVID-19. The results indicated that 11.2% of children experienced “some symptoms after recovery,” but the figure fell from 1.8% to 4.6% six months after the acute illness, in function of the child’s age.
The survey conducted by the Ministry of Health also found that older children were more likely to suffer from long-term COVID; 1.8% of children aged 3 to 6 years saw lasting symptoms, while 4.6% of those aged 12 to 18 years experienced these effects.
In addition, participants aged 12 to 18 years who experienced a symptomatic course of COVID-19 were more likely to develop long COVID, compared with those who had asymptomatically confirmed COVID-19, with 5.6% versus 3, 5%, respectively. The results revealed no specific symptoms.
“Based on cumulative findings worldwide, it is clear that coronavirus has long-term effects not only in the adult population, but also among children,” the translated findings said. “The reported long-term morbidity rate means there are thousands of children in Israel with long-term symptoms.”
