BA.2 More Severe in Children, New Study Shows
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- The BA.2 omicron subvariant causes more severe disease in children compared with other coronavirus variants or other respiratory viruses, a new Hong Kong study has found
- The study offers an insight into the virulence of the BA.2 subvariant in vulnerable individuals and also highlights the urgency of COVID-19 vaccination for kids
- Throughout the pandemic, Hong Kong implemented a "zero-COVID" policy with tight COVID-19 restrictions including mandatory quarantine for close contacts of infected persons, strict social distancing, and universal masking
- However, with the emergence of the highly contagious BA.2 subvariant of the omicron variant, COVID-19 cases have spiked rapidly across the country, causing widespread deaths especially among Children
- In February 2022 at the height of the Hong Kong's omicron wave, which was driven by the BA.2, more than 1,147 children were hospitalized, four of whom died of the infection. Officials noted that these were the first COVID-19 deaths among children since the pandemic began
