South Korean Baby Infected with Coronavirus, Are Children More at Risk of Infection?

All the best to this family in South Korea:

A 45-day-old baby has been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, health authorities here said Sunday, becoming the youngest patient in South Korea. 

Health authorities said the baby boy, born on Jan. 15, 2020, tested positive for COVID-19 after their parents had contracted the virus. 

According to the authorities, the baby’s father first tested positive for the novel coronavirus last Thursday.

The baby and her mother have entered self-quarantine at their house in Gyeongsan, North Gyeongsang Province, after doctors said they are in good condition. Health authorities said they will transfer them to a hospital after monitoring their health situation.

Korea Times

This news caused me to wonder how at risk children are to be infected with the coronavirus? Below is an excerpt from an interview the Harvard Gazette recently did with one of the university’s epidemiologists about this topic:

GAZETTE: What do we know about for sure about how children are affected by this virus?

LIPSITCH: We know that the cases of children sick enough to get tested is much lower per capita than those of adults. And we also know that, in China outside of Hubei province, the difference between children and adults is smaller. Children are still underrepresented, but they’re a larger part of the total than inside Hubei province. That would suggest that part of the equation is that they are getting infected but they’re not that sick — it’s easier to identify less-severe cases in a system that’s not overwhelmed as it is in Hubei. But we don’t know whether they’re infected and not as sick or whether there are a lot of kids that aren’t getting infected even when they’re exposed.

Harvard Gazette

Here is some more interesting information from the interview:

GAZETTE: You mentioned children having been hit only lightly by this. What about other parts of the population? What do we know about the impact of this from a demographic standpoint?

LIPSITCH: It’s definitely the case that the older you are, the more at risk of getting infected you are and, if you get symptomatic infection, the more at risk of dying you are. Men also seem to be overrepresented among those getting severe illness. The reasons why are a really important research question. One thing that also needs to be looked at is the impact on health-care workers because they are at high risk of getting infected, and I would like to know whether they’re at higher risk of getting severe infection. Some of the anecdotal cases of young physicians dying make me wonder whether they’re exposed to a higher dose and that’s making them sicker.

It appears that along with an elderly age and preexisting medical conditions, that men are more susceptible of being infected with the virus.