Children are less likely to spread Coronavirus because they release only a quarter of the virus particles that adults make, according to a study focusing on children aged eight to ten
- A German study found that children released significantly fewer aerosol particles of the COVID-19 virus than adults
- The researchers tested the rate of particulate matter release in children aged eight to ten and compared it to that of adults when breathing, speaking, singing or shouting.
- Aerosol levels were similar only between children and adults when shouting
- The study shows that children are less likely to spread the virus than adults
Children spend much less than COVID-19 aerosol particles compared to adults, which potentially reduces their ability to transmit the virus, a new study finds.
Researchers from the University of Berlinin Germanyfound that, on average, children released fewer Covid particles into the air, especially when breathing, talking or singing.
Experts believe that people who emit lower amounts of aerosol particles when they speak have a lower viral load, which also means that they do not spread the virus at the same level.
The findings have major implications for schools and other events and activities populated mainly by children, as transmission of Covid may be less than expected – even when children are not wearing masks.
The researchers found that when children (orange) breathed, spoke or sang, they released less Covid aerosol particles than adults (blue). However, the velocity of the particles was similar when the test subjects screamed
Researchers who published their findings on Wednesday in The Journal of the Royal Societycollected data from 15 adults and 15 children for the study.
The children were 11 boys and four girls, all between the ages of eight and ten.
All children and all adults – aged between 23 and 64 – are part of professional or semi-professional choirs.
They placed each participant in a closed environment and each breath, talking, singing and shouting before the researchers collected particulate emissions and volume.
The researchers found that when breathing, talking or singing, the children’s group spread a much lower rate of aerosols on average than the adult groups.
However, similar viral loads have been found in children and adults.
The actual effects of this study cannot be fully determined, but it seems to show that children have a lower viral load than adults – and therefore spread the virus at a slower rate.
This would have far-reaching implications for the way the pandemic is treated in the future, especially in some American schools, where children still have to wear masks.
Masks in schools have become one of the most controversial topics in America in recent weeks, with detractors claiming that face coatings hurt a child’s ability to communicate with peers at key ages of social development.
Many states have raised their mandates for school masks in recent weeks as Omicron’s COVID-19 jump has almost completely receded across the country.
However, some still force children to wear masks at school, although in all other public places – such as New York and Delaware – they wear masks.
Even when children catch Covid, the risk they face from the virus is particularly small.
Young people are among the least likely demographic groups to become infected or die from the disease, leading to questions about why vaccines or masks will be given to children in schools.
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that children account for less than 0.1% of virus deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020.
A study conducted last fall by researchers at the University of Utah – before the lighter version of Omicron arrived – found that half of Covid’s pediatric cases were asymptomatic.