Data from the Mass General Hospital Pediatric COVID-19 Biorepository were published online in The Journal of Pediatrics on August 19, 2020. “Children ages 0-22 years with suspected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection presenting to urgent care clinics or being hospitalized for confirmed/suspected SARS-CoV-2 infection or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) were offered enrollment in the MGH Pediatric COVID-19 Biorepository….A total of 192 children were enrolled. Forty-nine children (26%) were diagnosed with acute SARS-CoV-2 infection; an additional 18 children (9%) met criteria for MIS-C.” The stated purpose of the study was to increase the understanding of the potential role children play in the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors concluded that children are a potential source of contagion in the pandemic in spite of milder disease or lack of symptoms. Of note, the study also looked at comorbidities and the data on asthma were consistent with other studies: The patient groups with COVID-19 and MIS-C “displayed typical population rates of asthma (12% and 11%, respectively).”
