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Aim: Most children with COVID‐19 have mild symptoms, but data on the Omicron variant are rare. This paper describes unexpected cases with convulsions during 1 week in January 2022. Methods: Four children with COVID‐19 were admitted with convulsions to the paediatric department in Örebro, Sweden, when Omicron accounted for more than 98% of the country's COVID‐19 cases. Three children tested positive for the virus, and one had clinical COVID‐19. I was able to contact the parents of three boys, who gave consent for these case studies. Results: Two boys aged 3 and 21 months tested positive for the virus and a 14‐year‐old boy tested negative, but had a cold and family members who had tested positive. The teenager had a history of urinary tract infections, but the younger boys had no earlier comorbidities. None had a history of epilepsy or febrile convulsions. The younger children had a fever and the teenager had upper respiratory symptoms. The 3‐month‐old child had repeated convulsions for several hours, the 21‐month‐old had continuous convulsions for 15–20 min, and the teenager had a convulsion for 30–60 s, followed by uncharacteristic aggression. Conclusion: Convulsions may be a sign of the Omicron variant in children with COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Many countries have closed schools and kindergartens to minimise COVID-19, but the role that children play in disease transmission is unclear.Methods: A systematic literature review of the MEDLINE and EMBASE databases and medRxiv/bioRxiv preprint servers to 11 May 2020 identified published and unpublished papers on COVID-19 transmission by children.Results: We identified 700 scientific papers and letters and 47 full texts were studied in detail. Children accounted for a small fraction of COVID-19 cases and mostly had social contacts with peers or parents, rather than older people at risk of severe disease. Data on viral loads were scarce, but indicated that children may have lower levels than adults, partly because they often have fewer symptoms, and this should decrease the transmission risk. Household transmission studies showed that children were rarely the index case and case studies suggested that children with COVID-19 seldom caused outbreaks. However, it is highly likely that children can transmit the SARS-COV-2 virus, which causes COVID-19, and even asymptomatic children can have viral loads.Conclusion: Children are unlikely to be the main drivers of the pandemic. Opening up schools and kindergartens is unlikely to impact COVID-19 mortality rates in older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Sweden initially chose a different disease prevention and control path during the pandemic than many other European countries. In June 2020, the Swedish Government established a National Commission to examine the management of COVID‐19 in Sweden. This paper summarises, and discusses, its findings. Methods: Three reports published by the Commission were analysed. The first focused on the care of older people during the pandemic. The second examined disease and infection transmission and control and health care and public health. The third updated the first two reports and also covered economic aspects, crisis management and public communication. Results: By 25 February 2022, when the final report was published, 15 800 individuals, 1.5 per 1000 Swedish inhabitants, had died after COVID‐19. The death rates were high in spring 2020, but overall excess mortality in 2020–2021 was +0.79%, which was lower than in many other European countries. The Commission suggested that the voluntary measures that were adopted were appropriate and maintained Swedes' personal freedom during the pandemic. However, more extensive and earlier measures should have been taken, especially during the first wave. Conclusion: The Swedish COVID‐19 Commission felt that earlier and more extensive pandemic action should have been taken, particularly during the first wave. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: COVID‐19 has affected millions of people worldwide. This paper reviews the Swedish pandemic response. Methods: A narrative review was carried out and a timeline constructed. Results: By September 1, 2020, 0.8% of Swedish residents had tested positive for the virus and 0.06% of the population had died, which was higher than neighbouring Nordic countries, but lower than some European countries with general lockdowns. The main actors were the Public Health Agency, the National Board of Health and Welfare, the Civil Contingencies Agency and the Government. County councils and regions implemented policies, in conjunction with the Department of Education and county administrative boards. Sweden's response was less invasive than many other countries, with no general lockdown. It focused on mitigation: slowing, but not stopping, the pandemic. Physical distancing was recommended in public spaces, but mandatory in bars, restaurants and at events. Visits to nursing facilities were banned. Kindergartens and schools for children up to 16 stayed open, but closed for older children for three months. There were no enforced quarantines for infected households or geographical regions, and facemasks were not recommended outside health care. Conclusion: Sweden chose a different pandemic strategy to its peer nations. This paper examines the first eight months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the start of the COVID‐19 pandemic in March 2020, fever and respiratory symptoms were the indications for virus testing in our hospital. As data have continued to accumulate worldwide, gastrointestinal, neurological, cardiovascular, cutaneous and ocular symptoms have been reported for confirmed COVID‐19 cases. There have been few case reports on problems with taste and smell in paediatric COVID‐19. However, new symptoms can provide diagnostic and testing criteria for patients with no other clinical presentation, especially in older children. Conclusion: This paper looks at the taste and smell problems reported in paediatric patients and shares insights from our hospital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Very young age could be a potential risk factor for community‐acquired severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, due to immature immune systems. We retrospectively enrolled 39 infants up to 6 months of age who had presented to our tertiary Italian children's hospital emergency room between 9 March 2020 and 8 March 2021 and tested positive for the virus. Of those, 38 had a non‐specific mild or asymptomatic clinical course and only one patient was admitted to intensive care with severe symptoms. We concluded that very young infants with COVID‐19 had a generally favourable disease course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To test the method of engaging co‐researcher adolescents in data collection and explore stated motives for their selection of social media material related to COVID‐19. Methods: Twenty‐three adolescents, 13–19‐years old, in Sweden participated as co‐researchers collecting material from their social media related to COVID‐19. Specifically, they motivated their selection of social media material in field notes. Their motives were explored using content analysis. Results: Adolescent co‐researchers understood and performed the task well, providing insight into the social media exchanges of adolescents during the pandemic. An overarching theme for the motivation for their selection emerged: Social media is an important tool for adolescents' communication and information exchange during COVID‐19. Four categories were identified: Keeping track of the talk of the town; Recognition of personally relevant topics; Adolescents as information consumers; Social media as a means for expressing feelings, advice and existential reflections. Co‐researchers reported challenges relating to the quality of pandemic‐related information available to adolescents. Conclusion: Including young people as co‐researchers on matters relevant to them was successful. This study also underlines the need to consider the role of social media in information exchange during crises and to co‐produce health communication with adolescents to meet their specific needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Face masks are essential during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Health Organization, recommend that they are used for children aged six years and older. However, parents are increasingly expressing concerns about whether these might be physically harmful. This mini review assessed the evidence.Method: We conducted a narrative review on the effects of mask wearing on physiological variables in children, using PubMed, the Cochrane Library and the World Health Organization COVID-19 Database up to 7 November 2020. The lack of paediatric studies prompted a second search for adult studies.Results: We only found two paediatric studies, published in 2019 and 2020. The 2020 study was not related to COVID-19. Only one study, performed with N95 respirators, collected medical parameters, and this did not suggest any harmful effects of gas exchange. The eight adult studies, including four prompted by the pandemic and one on surgeons, reported that face masks commonly used during the pandemic did not impair gas exchange during rest or mild exercise.Conclusion: International guidelines recommend face masks for children aged six years and older, but further studies are needed to provide evidence-based recommendations for different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study determined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the occurrence of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and compared the main characteristics of MIS-C and Kawasaki disease (KD).Methods: We included patients aged up to 18 years of age who were diagnosed with MIS-C or KD in a paediatric university hospital in Paris from 1 January 2018 to 15 July 2020. Clinical, laboratory and imaging characteristics were compared, and new French COVID-19 cases were correlated with MIS-C cases in our hospital.Results: There were seven children with MIS-C, from 6 months to 12 years of age, who were all positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, and 40 virus-negative children with KD. Their respective characteristics were as follows: under 5 years of age (14.3% vs. 85.0%), paediatric intensive care unit admission (100% vs. 10.0%), abdominal pain (71.4% vs. 12.5%), myocardial dysfunction (85.7% vs. 5.0%), shock syndrome (85.7% vs. 2.5%) and mean and standard deviation C-reactive protein (339 ± 131 vs. 153 ± 87). There was a strong lagged correlation between the rise and fall in MIS-C patients and COVID-19 cases.Conclusion: The rise and fall of COVID-19 first wave mirrored the MIS-C cases. There were important differences between MIS-C and KD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social distancing is the only option available during the COVID-19 pandemic until a vaccine is developed. However, this is having a major impact on human relationships and bonding between parents and neonates is a major concern. Separation during this health emergency could have lifelong consequences for offspring, and there are even greater concerns if newborn infants are sick or vulnerable and need intensive care. We look at how bonding can be safely supported and maintained without risking infecting neonates, by comparing the international guidelines and proposing safe actions within those frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The global COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with high rates of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission, morbidity and mortality in the general population. Evidence-based guidance on caring for babies born to mothers with COVID-19 is needed. There is currently insufficient evidence to suggest vertical transmission between mothers and their newborn infants. However, transmission can happen after birth from mothers or other carers. Based on the currently available data, prolonged skin-to-skin contact and early and exclusive breastfeeding remain the best strategies to reduce the risks of morbidity and mortality for both the mother with COVID-19 and her baby. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]