Shamez Ladhani @ShamezLadhani Twitter profile

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ I was asked to write an editorial on face masks for kids in educational settings My conclusion? We need to stop masking children in educational settings because, after nearly 3 years of the pandemic, there is no robust evidence of benefit Short🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

1/ There have been increasing claims, mainly in North American news outlets, that the #SARSCoV2 DELTA variant is causing more severe #COVID19 in kids compared to previous variants Well, everything we know so far indicates that’s it’s *not* true. Here’s why…🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

Does anyone else think it’s odd that delta variant has suddenly changed to cause headaches & runny nose - right in the middle of hay fever season? Or, are people with headache & runny nose getting tested & finding asymptomatic #SARSCoV2 infection? 👉

Headache and runny nose linked to Delta variant - BBC News

People may need to be on the lookout for different Covid symptoms, according to researchers.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Our systematic review on long covid in children is now published, thanks to all the hard work by @livvyswann and her team. It’s not easy to study a condition with no case definition or diagnostic investigation, but here is what we found … 🧵 👉

Persistent symptoms following SARS-CoV-2 infection amongst children and young people: A meta-anal...

The frequency of the majority of reported persistent symptoms was similar in SARS-CoV-2 positive cases and controls. This systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the critical importance of a...

www.journalofinfection.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Serious question: does anyone outside America think it is OK to mask young children whilst they are surrounded by unmasked adults?? Somewhere along the pandemic, someone really messed up their public health messaging. Thank goodness we never masked young kids in England👇

katie honan

@katie_honan

2 years

. @GovKathyHochul is at a school in San Juan, Puerto Rico with AFT president @rweingarten handing out backpacks to students. She has a reception later tonight days after her Election Day victory.

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ I was asked by @TheLancet to write an editorial on #COVID19 vaccines for 5-11 year-olds: 6 months on, what have we learnt? Importantly, what is the endgame? Preventing infections? Severe disease? Long covid? And at what cost? My tuppence worth …🧵 👉

COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 5–11 years

COVID-19 vaccines have already prevented millions of deaths during the current pandemic.1 Given the strong association between increasing age and severe COVID-19 outcomes, adults were prioritised for...

www.thelancet.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

5/ To conclude: let’s stop the scaremongering & get the public messaging right. The vast majority of kids with #COVID19 will recover completely, but we do need better tools to identify (& resources to investigate & support) the small proportion of kids with persistent symptoms

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Isn’t it ironic how the same scientists who blindly tweeted “1 in 7 kids” & “100,000s of kids” getting long covid based on non-scientific surveys asking parents if their kid has “long covid?” are now writing long 🧵 criticizing better, controlled studies showing much lower risks?

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

1. Most of us do not really appreciate how resilient children and their immune systems are when they encounter #sarscov2 . Most kids don’t even realize they have been exposed, which leads to ⬆️⬆️⬆️ over-estimation of the long-term effects of #COVID19 in children Here’s why … 🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

So many people berating UK’s delay in vaccinating 5-11 yr-olds. Lets be honest about these vaccines. They prevent severe #COVID19 but will not stop kids from being infected or transmitting virus. Please vaccinate your kid if you are worried but be clear about why you are doing so

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Kids rarely get severe #COVID19 . While hospitalization in adults often reflects severe disease, this is not true for kids. In England, we found very low rates of #covid19 hospitalisations in kids during the 1st pandemic year & most were short-stay without complications ...🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

I am one of the authors of this paper👇 In Kids, hospitalisations=uncommon & ICU=rare after primary OR re-infection with #SARSCoV2 (alpha/delta) Importantly, there were 44 deaths after primary infection (0·01%) & none after reinfection Reinfections were NOT more severe in kids

AJ Leonardi, MBBS, PhD

@fitterhappierAJ

2 years

Good morning to everyone except those that claimed reinfections would be mild due to immune memory I'm biased on T cell memory because I found how to control it Kids were hospitalized at a near equal rate on reinfections compared to the first infection

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

People don’t realize that, even if masks helped protect against respiratory viruses, masking kids now would only ⬆️ susceptible pool of kids in the next infection wave & overwhelm healthcare systems further. Lockdowns & restrictions are why we are in this mess in the 1st place 👇

Naheed Dosani

@NaheedD

2 years

Pediatric ICU beds in Ontario are basically full. I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's about time we #BringBackMasks .

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Isn’t this interesting?! Adults w/out kids had 15%⬇️ #covid19 but 49%⬆️ hospitalization & 76%⬆️ ICU than adults with 0–5y kids. Authors suggest seasonal coronavirus exposure from kids might ⬇️ severe covid - yet some still want to keep kids isolated…🤷🏻‍♂️ 👉

Risk of severe COVID-19 infection among adults with prior exposure to children | PNAS

Susceptibility and severity of COVID-19 infection vary widely. Prior exposure to endemic coronaviruses, common in young children, may protect again...

www.pnas.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Is there a word for people who criticize you behind your back without having the decency to tag you? @DGBassani knows nothing about me, or that I lead on several UK national immunisation programs, yet he labels me as anti-vaccine: Using vaccines sensibly is not anti-vaccine

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

See that little bump in childhood #covid19 cases during March 2021 in the graph below? That was the total outcome of 9 million - that’s 9 million - children returning to school in England (and no, cases did not spill over into adult age groups) 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Persistent symptoms after #COVID19 in kids are *NOT* permanent or life-long. They just take a little longer to resolve than acute symptoms. So please stop using the “a small percentage of a large number …” argument to make the problem sound bigger than it is for kids👇

Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Our systematic review on long covid in children is now published, thanks to all the hard work by @livvyswann and her team. It’s not easy to study a condition with no case definition or diagnostic investigation, but here is what we found … 🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Remember all that media noise about #omicron hospitalizing young kids with severe covid? This paper concludes: “Risks for severe clinical outcomes in children infected with Omicron variant were significantly lower than those in the matched Delta cohort”👇

Incidence and Outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron and Delta Variants in Children Younger Than 5 Years

This cohort study assesses the incidence rates and clinical outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection with the Omicron and Delta variants in children younger than 5 years in the US.

jamanetwork.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

A lot of media attention on B.617 variants & children, schools & outbreaks is some UK regions, but important to keep bigger picture in mind. Schools reopened for 9 million kids 5 weeks ago & infection rates remain flat in school-aged children nationally 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

One of the strangest narratives of the pandemic: UK JCVI recommending against vaccinating teens due to marginal risk-benefits, ministers overriding decision so as to reduce education disruption & parents vaccinating their kids so they can go on holiday🤷🏻‍♂️ 👉

Decision on Covid vaccines for children aged five to 11 expected in days

Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation considering matter, with vaccines currently offered to clinically vulnerable under-12s

www.telegraph.co.uk

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Yesterday I learnt that 1.6 BiLLION children worldwide have been put out of school during the #covid19 pandemic 🤯 Let’s do everything we can to make sure it never happens again #ESPID2022

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

1/ Following a barrage of Twitter abuse because of my quote about our School Infection Survey (SIS) results today, I would like to reiterate what we have learnt about #COVID19 after 9 million students returned to full-time in-person education in England in March this year 👇

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

If someone you follow on social media told you that #monkeypox would inevitably spread in schools when kids returned after the summer holidays, I hope they have formally apologized for scaremongering - or else, you should be questioning yourselves why you are following them

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

😔 we are failing our children …

pictures of the end

@neighbours_wifi

2 years

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Please ignore this fake scaremongering by @DrEricDing . A strain of oral polio vaccine virus was found in sewage samples in London, probably from someone who was vaccinated abroad. It has nothing to do with polio vaccination in the UK, which includes inactivated (not live) virus👇

Eric Feigl-Ding

@DrEricDing

2 years

The virus that causes polio has been detected in a concerning number of sewage samples in London, health officials have said. The disease was common in the UK in the 1950s but was eliminated by 2003. But 2022 and polio anti-vaxxers now welcome it back.

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Our new preprint on Long Covid & Kids: TOPLINE: Teenagers who had parents with long covid were significantly more likely to report long covid symptoms at 6 months after a positive OR negative SARS-CoV-2 PCR-test (CLoCK study) Surprised?…🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

The UK decision to delay 2nd #COVID19 vaccine dose to 12 weeks was made by experts with decades of vaccine experience. This preprint shows high & sustained antibodies up to 10 weeks after 1 Pfizer or AZ vaccine dose in ALL adults, including elderly 💪👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

@lisa_iannattone you are misquoting my study👇 & exaggerating #COVID19 risks in kids. The rates you quote are NOT *for* #covid but for hospitalisations within 28 days of a +ve #SARSCoV2 test. The vast majority of these kids do NOT have severe #covid 👉

Dr. Lisa Iannattone

@lisa_iannattone

2 years

Primary covid infections end in hospitalization for 1 in 37 kids. Reinfections end in hospitalization for 1 in 42 kids. The author @ShamezLadhani doesn’t think that the ~1 in 40 risk of hospitalization, that persists with reinfections, is the takeaway point here. I disagree.

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Please BEWARE this pre-print from Hong Kong claiming that the Omicron BA.2 variant is not mild in kids. Basic epidemiology will tell you that the methodology is flawed & the conclusions go against everything we know about the Omicron variants 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Our preprint on #COVID19 & childhood deaths during the first 2 pandemic years in England 👉 Top line: Among ~12 million <20 year-olds, there were 81 #covid deaths (infection fatality rate, 0.70/100,000 infections) - that’s less than 1 in 100,000 …🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

8/ But when you look at *rates* (% of kids with #COVID19 who are hospitalised) the red line (if anything) is lower in the current Delta peak than previous Alpha peak, which means that kids exposed to the delta variant were less likely to be hospitalised than alpha wave @jneill 👇

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

In England, 9 million kids have been in full time in-person schooling for a full 6 weeks since 18 April 2021 & #SARSCoV2 infection rates *did not increase* in any school-aged cohort, despite emergence & national spread of Indian B.1.617.2 delta variant👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Another study on #COVID19 #vaccine effectiveness in kids & teens published in @NEJM Here are the 3 main findings, followed by an honest conclusion by the authors - compare this to conclusions of US authors in a study with similar findings … 🧵 👉

Covid-19 Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents in Qatar | NEJM

The BNT162b2 vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has been authorized for use in children 5 to 11 years of age and adolescents 12 to 17 years of age but in different antigen doses. W...

www.nejm.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ For parents, the decision to vaccinate their child against #COVID19 is personal & voluntary, but many are uncertain because of mixed messaging out there. I can’t tell you what to do, but here are some things to consider when making your decision …🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ A lot of questions about natural immunity following #SARSCoV2 infection in children After nearly 2 years, what have we learnt about kids, antibodies, cellular immunity, variants, reinfections and vaccines so far? Our 3 recent studies help answer many of these questions… 🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Unlike adults, the majority of kids hospitalised with #SARSCoV2 do *not* have severe #Covid In London we found only 10% of kids hospitalised with a +ve #sarscov2 PCR-test had severe #COVID19 , mainly during the alpha wave Here’s our preprint…🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

The idea that #COVID19 RE-INFECTIONS cause more severe disease is just not true: This preprint for the whole Qatari population found “No reinfection in any cohort progressed to severe, critical, or fatal COVID-19” irrespective of vaccination status 👉

COVID-19 primary series and booster vaccination and immune imprinting

Background Epidemiological evidence for immune imprinting was investigated in immune histories related to vaccination in Qatar from onset of the omicron wave, on December 19, 2021, through September...

www.medrxiv.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

1/ How long do 2 doses of #COVID19 vaccines protect for? Who needs booster vaccinations? Our team @phe_uk have just published a pre-print on vaccine effectiveness (VE) and duration of protection after 2 doses of Pfizer and AZ vaccines in adults … 🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

@globalhlthtwit Professor Costello, thank you for taking the time to listen to our podcast. I have to say I am disappointed that someone in your position chooses to quote out of context in such a manner. I will let your followers make their own minds up after watching the podcast themselves

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

This misinformation has to stop. Very few kids suffer from long covid. A recent UK ONS survey found no difference in persistent symptoms between primary school kids with & without #COVID19 , and only a small difference between secondary school kids 👉

Long Covid in Children: ONS Prevalence estimates have been radically revised downwards

www.bmj.com

Ruth Liptrot

@Ruth5News

2 years

Here’s the link for the report. Let’s get the message out there that #longcovid affects children too. For more info and support go to @LongCovidKids Nearly 120,000 children in the UK are living with long Covid | 5 News via @YouTube . @5_News

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ The CLoCk study is the largest study on long covid in teens. This study *DOES NOT* show that 1 in 7 teens (14%) get long covid & neither do the ONS surveys. Here is a short summary. The real gem in the data, however, is hidden in the Supplement …🧵 👉

Long COVID - the physical and mental health of children and non-hospitalised young people 3 months...

Introduction: We describe post-COVID symptomatology in a national sample of 11-17-year-old children and young people (CYP) with PCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to test-negative controls...

www.researchsquare.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Imagine telling a parent of a 5-11 yo that #COVID19 vaccine will be 20% effective agains #SARSCoV2 after 4 mo & might reduce hospitalization risk from 0.5% to 0.3%, but if child already had #omicron then vaccine will be very effective against omicron!🤯 👉

Effects of Vaccination and Previous Infection on Omicron Infections in Children | NEJM

In a 6-month study in children while omicron was dominant, previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and the BNT162b2 vaccine lowered the risks of infection, hospitalization, and death, but protection against ...

www.nejm.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ This large #LongCovid study with very intelligent analyses concluded (h/t @rzima ): Persistent physical symptoms after COVID-19 may be associated more with the belief in having been infected with SARS-CoV-2 than with having lab-confirmed #COVID19 👉

Association of Self-reported COVID-19 Infection and SARS-CoV-2 Serology Results With Persistent...

This cross-sectional study of individuals from the French CONSTANCES cohort assesses whether the belief in having been infected with SARS-CoV-2, having serological test–confirmed COVID-19 infection,...

jamanetwork.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

This NHS England video has been removed from social media. The reason I am posting this is to raise awareness that the information it contained on #COVID19 , hospitalizations & long covid in kids was incorrect & misleading. More details here ( @R_Hughes1 )👉

NHS England deletes misleading Covid stats video

Earlier this month, NHS England tweeted out a video to its half million followers to try to promote the Covid vaccine among children. The video cited a series of worrying, but inaccurate, statistics...

unherd.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

11/ In conclusion, the Delta variant is more transmissible than other variants & cases have ⬆️ rapidly, even in kids. Around 1 in 200 kids exposed to #SARSCoV2 will be hospitalised but, if anything, it looks like delta variant might have lower hospitalization rates in kids End

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

7/ So, when trying to estimate risk of severe #COVID19 or #LongCovid , remember that most kids do not even develop any symptoms after virus exposure & some kids may be inherently protected from cellular immunity. Surely these kids can’t be at risk of severe or long covid. End

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

13/ PS. Whatever decision each country makes, it is important that the messaging of risk/benefits of #COVID19 vaccination for kids is clear, or we risk losing public confidence in vaccines & trust in those advocating for vaccines to prevent other more serious diseases …/End

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

8/ Importantly, the idea that we should vaccinate kids to protect education staff, household members or local community no longer holds because #covid19 vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission. It is up to the adults to get vaccinated & protect themselves against #COVID

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

1 year

1/ Remember all the media coverage of #omicron causing so much severe #COVID19 in young kids? We extended our @ukhsa #COVID19 deaths surveillance in kids & found: ONE #COVID19 fatality per MILLION #Omicron infections in children aged <20 yrs …🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

3/ Our systematic review found that most of the reported persistent symptoms were equally common in SARS-CoV-2 +ve cases & SARS-CoV-2 -ve controls. Importantly, higher study quality was associated with lower prevalence of all symptoms, except loss of smell & cognitive symptoms

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

*Has “Long Covid” been exaggerated?* Excellent piece by @finn_mcredmond in @unherd For those trying to 2nd guess my opinion, it’s in the last line of the article: “we cannot identify the actual risk because real cases are getting buried in the noise” 👉

Has Long Covid been exaggerated?

New evidence suggests that the extent of the “Long Covid” phenomenon may have been dramatically exaggerated. The risks of Long Covid was a central argument in favour of draconian restrictions during...

unherd.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

2/ It’s true that the delta variant is more transmissible the both the alpha variant & the original strains, which means that it will infect more people more quickly, but there is no evidence that the risk of infection or transmission to others is different in kids vs adults

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

A review of 14 studies on long covid in children concludes that the true risk is likely to be nearer 1 in 100 than often quoted 1 in 7 👇

Nigel Curtis

@nigeltwitt

3 years

#LongCOVID We reviewed 14 studies of persisting symptoms following #COVID19 in #children & #adolescents Most had major limitations and should be interpreted with caution. True risk is likely to be nearer 1 in 100 than often quoted 1 in 7. #medpeds #IDTwitter (Long) 🧵1/n

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

6/ Based on these findings, the authors study concluded: “Our findings suggest the need to reconsider the value and strategies of vaccinating healthy children in the omicron era with the use of currently available vaccines” 👉

Covid-19 Vaccine Protection among Children and Adolescents in Qatar | NEJM

The BNT162b2 vaccine against coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) has been authorized for use in children 5 to 11 years of age and adolescents 12 to 17 years of age but in different antigen doses. W...

www.nejm.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

5/ One clue to support this observation is that most reports in the news & media are based on personal experiences of clinicians & individual hospitals rather than reports of hospitalization rates compared to local community infection & vaccination rates 👉

With Delta variant cases on the rise in Orange County, doctors say more kids are getting sick

Weeks before many schools begin a new academic year, pediatricians are reporting a noticeable increase in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 hospitalizations among young children.

www.latimes.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Remember that recent US paper on #covid19 vaccination for 5-11y? We didn’t agree with the conclusions (h/t @ProfAsmaKhalil ) So, we wrote to @nejm to explain why US data do NOT support BOOSTERS for kids irrespective of their previous infection status 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

As #COVID vaccine rollout for 5-11y begins in UK, remember that the vaccine will help add protection against their low risk of severe #COVID but not against infection or transmission with omicron. That doesn’t mean the vaccines don’t work: they are doing what we expect them to do

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

This is unnecessary scaremongering for parents. In England, several 100 students were exposed to an adult with #monkeypox in school before summer holidays (when there were no mitigations) & there were ZERO secondary cases in the students - their risk in school is less than 0.5%👇

Eric Feigl-Ding

@DrEricDing

2 years

New world record — More than 1,000 daily #monkeypox cases (7 days average). Those who said #MPXV would fizzle out soon are plain wrong. This fall school year will need radically new / more safety mitigations. Figure by @Antonio_Caramia

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Maybe it’s just me, but as a parent and paediatrician, I think putting up the names & pictures of children who may or may not have died of #Covid19 on social media is crass & undignified. I did not include the link to those tweets out of respect for the children & their families

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

3/ Because of its higher transmissibility, there will be more Delta variant cases &, since most adults in many countries are vaccinated against #COVID19 , cases/hospitalisations may seem disproportionately ⬆️ in kids (especially teens) vs adults. This just shows that #VaccinesWork

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Our latest paper on longitudinal follow-up of teens with long covid (CLoCk) is a game changer: Different teens report the same post-covid symptoms at 0, 6m & 12m after their #SARSCoV2 PCR , irrespective of whether they tested + or - for the virus 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

3/ This risk of severe #COVID19 in 5-11y was based on 644 hospitalisations (15 ICU, 2 died) which translated to: - hospitalisation risk 0.08% (84/100,000 infections) - ICU risk 0.002% (2/100,000) - fatality risk 0.0003% (0·3/100,000) 👉 I mean, how low can you go?🤷🏻‍♂️

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

Just like primary schools, we found limited #sarscov2 infection or transmission when UK secondary schools reopened fully from Sep-Dec 2020 We measured #COVID19 antibodies in blood, which captured symptomatic & asymptomatic infections in students & staff

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Just finished 7 long days covering the vaccine cell for the current monkeypox outbreak @UKHSA Our team has now updated the UK guidance on recommendations for the use of pre- and post-exposure vaccination during a monkeypox incident (published today) 👉

Mpox (monkeypox) vaccination recommendations

Recommendations for the use of pre- and post-exposure vaccination during an mpox incident.

www.gov.uk

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

4 years

#COVID19 in care homes: we found that older residents are able to mount the same antibody response and neutralizing antibodies against #SARSCoV2 as the younger healthier staff, irrespective of gender or having symptoms 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ To those who accused me of misinformation when I stated that #COVID19 vaccines provide very limited short term protection against #SARSCoV2 infection, vaccine effectiveness dropped to 0% by 3-5 months in 12-15y, with similar trends in 5-11y. But …. 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Here we go … only a matter of time before they started advocating for indefinite school mitigations - 1st covid, then flu/RSV, now GAS, next? enterovirus? - despite acknowledging that the mess we are in is because we ⬆️ the pool of susceptible kids thru pandemic restrictions 👇

Stephen Griffin

@SGriffin_Lab

2 years

Thanks @AimeePaige for inviting me to write about this... @theipaper (note, I didn't choose the title so please don't shout at me - of course I don't mean lockdowns before anyone says...)

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

For what it’s worth, #Omicron is the least likely explanation for acute hepatitis in kids because the 1st cases in Alabama occurred in Oct 2021: before omicron emerged. So, if anyone has any theories as to why it took 2 years for #SARSCoV2 to manifest as acute hepatitis in kids…

marbles

@448_Psychosis

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@ShamezLadhani

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ So, here’s some really exciting news: The hyper-inflammatory heart condition linked with #COVID19 (MIS-C/PIMS-TS) in kids has now virtually disappeared - despite large waves of community #SARSCoV2 infections with omicron & it’s subvariants …🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

It’s mind boggling that people are still struggling with this concept. For 2 years kids have not had viral illnesses apart from #sarscov2 . They are now all catching so many viral infections, which also increases their small risk of secondary bacterial infections, including GAS 🤷🏻‍♂️

Aris Katzourakis

@ArisKatzourakis

2 years

I said as a joke yesterday someone would make this nonsensical claim, and the mail has gone and done it.

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

1 year

Unbelievable - we are now into the 4th year of the pandemic 👇

Michael P Senger

@michaelpsenger

1 year

When asked if the CDC will revise its guidance to mandate masks in schools in light of the Cochrane review showing masks do not curb COVID, CDC Director Walensky tells Congress its advice on child masking will never change. “Our masking guidance doesn’t really change with time.”

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

I hope the #COVID19 zealots apologize to their followers for falsely attributing #SARSCoV2 for the recent hepatitis cases in kids. Looks like it might be a combination of 2 other viruses in a small % of genetically susceptible kids. Nicely explained here 👉

Scientists find culprit behind mystery child hepatitis outbreak

UK scientists pinpointed a usually-harmless virus as being the main culprit for the unusual liver illness, which has sickened 200 youngsters in the UK and left a dozen needing transplants.

www.dailymail.co.uk

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

7/ In conclusion, only 1% of hospitalizations in kids were associated w/ #COVID in the 1st pandemic year. ICU admissions & fatalities were rare, mainly in kids w/multiple comorbidities & life-limiting conditions. Hospitalization/ICU risks were similar to influenza in previous yr

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

6/ We also have to consider that most children have already been infected by #SARSCoV2 over the 2.5 years since the start of the pandemic. What is the added benefit of vaccinating - or even boosting - kids who have already been exposed to the virus? No data for kids 🤷🏻‍♂️

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ It’s really sad that, when we report that a disease (eg. #covid19 ) is more severe or fatal in kids with underlying conditions (eg neurodisabilities, immunocompromised), this is taken to mean that such kids are less valued The truth is exactly the opposite…🧵

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

1 year

The study re-analysed by @TracyBethHoeg is one of several biased observational studies on face masks (mainly from the US) that have been debunked in subsequent publications. Here is my editorial on face masks & #COVID19 prevention in educational settings 👉

Tracy Høeg, MD, PhD

@TracyBethHoeg

1 year

Thankfully, the highly respected Journal of Infection (IF=38) published it, allowing us to expose CDC's publication bias: CDC chose to publish a small study suggesting masks work, but wouldn't publish our more robust analysis finding no association The End

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

8/ So, the question is: what are we trying to achieve with #COVID19 vaccines for 5-11y? Protection against infection is moderate & wanes rapidly. Some countries are offering 3rd dose, but experience in adults tells us this too will wane within few weeks 👉

Covid-19 Vaccine Effectiveness against the Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variant | NEJM

A rapid increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases due to the omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in highly vaccinated populations has aroused ...

www.nejm.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

In the UK, we are very lucky to have world-renowned paediatric liver specialists who look after kids with hepatitis. They have decades of experience & all the data on recent cases that they have looked after. Why not let them tell us what is going on when they have some answers?

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

1/ On 19 July 2021, JCVI published their statement on #Covid19 vaccination for 12-17 yr-olds If you only heard that JVCI did not recommend vaccine for teens then you missed out on a wealth of information & recommendations in the report Here’s why 🧵 👉

JCVI statement on COVID-19 vaccination of children and young people aged 12 to 17 years: 15 July...

www.gov.uk

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

1/ Many parents are still concerned about long covid in kids: If you want to know where we really are with long covid in kids then take a few mins to read this short, honest, down-to-earth editorial by a Danish paediatrician in @LancetChildAdol …🧵 👉

Difficult questions about long COVID in children

The COVID-19 pandemic is likely to leave long-lasting marks on a generation of children and young people, mainly from indirect effects, including those of school closures, social isolation,1–3 and a...

www.thelancet.com

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

I am very pro-vaccine. My job is to promote safe vaccination & prevent serious illness. My team was one of the first to show benefits of #covid vaccination in adults. But just because we have a vaccine doesn’t mean we should give it to everyone without considering risk-benefits

Whitney R. Robinson

@WhitneyEpi

2 years

@andrewtanyongyi @ShamezLadhani Anyway he and I are not diametrically opposed. But I think it’s safe to say, if a community group in the UK or US asked our opinions, he’d counsel most people not to vaccinate their little kids and I’d counsel most people to vaccinate their little kids There’s a difference

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

1 year

1/ Our @ukhsa paper on paediatric #SARSCoV2 antibody prevalence in England is now published By Sep 2022, 97.2% of 1-17 year-olds had #SARSCoV2 antibodies Our findings are critical for future #COVID19 vaccine/booster recommendations for kids …🧵 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

The idea held by so many that the whole population self-testing for #COVID19 will protect the vulnerable is incredibly naive. There are more viruses than #SARSCoV2 . We can’t test for all of them. The same pre-pandemic precautions apply & they have the benefit of #covid vaccines

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

4/ So, if cases ⬆️ in kids & if ~1 in 200 kids with #COVID19 are hospitalised then the *number* of kids with the virus in hospital will also ⬆️. And, since a small % of these hospitalised kids will have severe #COVID19 & may need ICU care, the *number* of kids in ICU will also ⬆️

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

7/ Remember also, contrary to rumors floating on social media, reinfections with #SARSCoV2 have not been more severe in kids & there is no evidence that reinfections have any effect on the risk of long covid in kids 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

2/ The most important message is that the quality of published studies have been highly variable: earlier studies without a control group paint a completely different picture than more recent case-control studies which provide more accurate reflection of long covid risks in kids

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

@MarvinH2_G2 @chris_salt @adamhfinn Nice try. Current #COVID19 vaccines do not prevent infection or transmission of #SARS_CoV_2 . This idea of vaccinating one group to protect another is wrong because we don’t have the right vaccines to do so. Did you miss the omicron wave in vaccinated and boosted adults?

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

11/ We sometimes forget that such a large-scale vaccine programme comes with both financial & opportunity costs - e.g. diverting staff from routine services could jeopardize national childhood immunisation programme with potentially more severe consequences than #COVID19 in kids

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

12/ If anyone is aware of better data on severity of illness or outcomes with the delta variant compared to other variants in kids, please do share. The pandemic is constantly shifting and it’s not possible to keep up with all the literature

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

I feel sorry for @BinitaKane ’s daughter because some kids do suffer long term effects of #COVID19 just like any other virus, but this information about the risk of severe covid, deaths & long covid in kids is blatantly incorrect (ht @R_Hughes1 ) …/1

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

@CheungRonny @lizWWyld In South London, too, our children’s wards and paediatric intensive care unit are NOT full of #covid19 cases. Severe disease and hospitalisations due to #COVID19 continue to be rare in children. Totally misleading misinformation leading to unnecessary scaremongering.

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

5/ Another clue is that most reports of severe childhood #COVID19 cases in the news & media are from regions with high community #COVID19 infection rates & low adult #COVID19 vaccine uptake, which increases the risk of kids catching the virus 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

Everything we know about #SARSCoV2 tells us that first infection reduces (but doesn’t eliminate) the risk & SEVERITY of further infections, even with new variants. Here is our paper showing this with delta reinfections in kids (work on omicron reinfections in progress)👇

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health

@LancetChildAdol

2 years

#SARSCoV2 reinfections were not associated with severe disease in terms of hospital or #pedsICU admissions, and there were no fatalities within 28 days of reinfection in children #COVID19

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

10/ There are caveats with these data - we don’t really know if kids were hospitalised with or *because of* #COVID19 but these caveats should be the same for Alpha & Delta peaks &, thus, comparable. Note: very few kids (even with medical conditions) get hospitalised with #covid19

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

12/ To conclude, with #COVID19 vaccines now available for under 5s, risk benefits will be even more marginal, especially when most kids will already have been exposed to #SARSCoV2 . Let’s hope that countries learn from experiences with older kids when making their decisions

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

5/ What about long covid? This is still the best systematic review showing very low risks in kids when compared to control group without covid. Also, unlike adults, there is no evidence that #COVID19 vaccine prevents or reduces long covid risks in kids 👉

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

10/ PS. Yes: we need more support for mitigations, including ventilation; No: I still haven’t seen convincing data on how much masks help ⬇️ school transmission; & No: we don’t need another adult lockdown to reopen schools because adults are now vaccinated (you know who you are)

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

2 years

“One in five pupils reported that face coverings made them feel anxious …” 😳👇

Michael Absoud

@MAbsoud

2 years

*NEW* 🇬🇧 survey & qualitative focus groups on masks 😷 in schools— with young people and teachers… sobering read. We must consult and listen 👂🏼 to children

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

3 years

Our care home outbreak investigations found that prior #SARSCoV2 infection was 96% protective against re-infection among elderly residents & younger staff in care homes experiencing a second #COVID19 outbreak in England. Our paper in @Eurosurveillanc 👉

Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 protect against re-infection during outbreaks in care homes, September and...

Two London care homes experienced a second COVID-19 outbreak, with 29/209 (13.9%) SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR-positive cases (16/103 residents, 13/106 staff). In those with prior SARS-CoV-2 exposure, 1/88...

www.eurosurveillance.org

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Shamez Ladhani

@ShamezLadhani

4 years

sKIDs (COVID-19 surveillance in school KIDs): Students had similar #sarscov2 antibody levels as staff across England and #SARSCoV2 antibody levels were similar to community levels at the time. Attending school did not increase the risk of infection 👉

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