SACRAMENTO, Calif — In California, kids are heading back to school for in-person learning, but the delta variant is also on the rise, leaving some parents wondering about their child getting infected.
QUESTION:
Are children more likely to get the delta variant than adults?
ANSWER:
No, children are not more likely to get the delta variant than adults, but children under 12 are more likely to be infected due to not getting the COVID-19 shot.
SOURCES:
- Dr. Brad Pollock, Department of Public Health Sciences UC Davis
- Dr. Kawanaa Carter, Medical Director of the Del Paso Heights Community Vaccination Clinic
PROCESS:
Dr. Carter says the delta variant, when it gets into the body, replicates twice as fast.
“Which means it’s going to make you sicker faster what that also means for vaccinated people is if they get infected with enough concentration of the delta variant in rare cases vaccinated people can get sick from that delta variant,” Carter said.
Dr. Carter said all children under the age of 12 are still vulnerable to catching the coronavirus.
“In places where people have not been vaccinated, children the number of children being infected has escalated,” Carter said.
But are children 12 and up who are vaccinated more likely to get the delta variant?
“A susceptible adult and a susceptible child probably have about the same likely hood of getting infected, and they probably have the same likelihood of having complications based on their age,” Pollock said.
Children are not more likely to get the delta variant than adults, but children under 12 are more likely to be infected because they aren't eligible to get the COVID-19 shot.
“The young kids right now don’t have the opportunity to have the vaccine, and so they are more likely to get infected because they are not going to be protected by the vaccine,” Pollock said.