Alliance for Pandemic Preparedness

April 13, 2021

A Public Health Antibody Screening Indicates a Marked Increase of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure Rate in Children during the Second Wave

Category:

Topic:

Keywords (Tags): ,

  • SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence among children aged 1-10 years in Bavaria, Germany increased from 0.68% during the first wave (January-August 2020) to 3.92% during the second wave (September-February 2021). The authors suggest that the increase in seropositivity was likely caused by generally higher virus exposure during fall and winter, school openings, and the introduction of variants. By February 2021, genomic sequencing estimated that variants, particularly B.1.1.7, comprised up to 65% of infections in pre-school children and 70% in school-age children.

Hippich et al. (Apr 3, 2021). A Public Health Antibody Screening Indicates a Marked Increase of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure Rate in Children during the Second Wave. Med. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.medj.2021.03.019