Lifting restrictions will ease anxiety among children, say GPs

It is important for young people to know schools will remain open, that they have access again to music, sports, and other activities, Dr John Sheehan said. File photo: Larry Cummins

Covid case numbers continue to fall at general practices across the county, with children less affected by the virus than adults, and the lifting of restrictions set to ease anxiety in this group, GPs have said.

Overall Covid numbers have dropped from 24.7 potential cases per GP per day at the start of January to less than three, according to the GP Buddy Covid-19 Community Tracker.

Dr John Sheehan said his Cork city practice is getting fewer Covid-calls across all ages and he has noticed teenagers are less severely ill than in previous waves of the pandemic.

“Most of them (the cases) tend to be in younger people but they are not sick-sick. They might be flu-like sick but they are not hospital-sick,” he said. “That is in stark contrast to this time last year when people got it before the vaccinations, and a lot of them were in hospitals.” 

The latest weekly figures up to January 17 for Covid-cases show 9% were among teens aged 13 to 18 and 8.9% among those aged five to 12 compared to 20% among those aged 25 to 34.

Dr Sheehan welcomed the decision not to close schools earlier this month, and said: “School is an important part of a young person’s world, and as much as possible we should be sending them.” 

It is important for young people to know schools will remain open, that they have access again to music, sports, and other activities, he said.

“Even when the restrictions were eased before, there was a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “There is a general sense of relief, that will feed into children because anxiety is infectious.” He said the staggered approach to masks in schools is to be welcomed.

We have seen a huge change in our practice in the last week not just in terms of numbers, but with reduced worry. You don’t have that level of anxiety and fear about things.

The HSE has urged parents of children aged five to 11 to come forward for vaccination, with almost 20% of this age group having had their first dose. Almost 80% of children aged 12 to 19 are now fully vaccinated. Early data assessment shows vaccine protection wanes more slowly in children than in adults, Professor Karina Butler has said. 

HSE data for Sunday shows one child with Covid-19 or a Covid-19-related illness in a paediatric ICU bed, with 25 of the 31 paediatric ICU beds occupied.

There were 17 children with Covid-related illnesses in the children’s hospitals in Dublin. Other hospitals do not report children and adult patients separately.

Meanwhile, a new review of international studies on long covid and children, published in The British Medical Journal, said there is an “urgent need for further rigorous studies” on this illness.

This research, led by Dr Petra Zimmermann, found “acute Covid-19 is less severe than in adults” in the initial stages of the illness. 

They also found “substantial limitations” in published studies on the levels of long Covid among children. The virus “remains predominantly a mild infection” among children they said but studies indicate vaccination can help with many issues.

“Vaccinating young people might help reduce some of the indirect harms caused by repeat testing and isolation, lockdowns, school closures, and reduced social activities, “ the review found.