The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Early research suggests that children are no more susceptible to COVID-19 infection than adults and that children with confirmed COVID-19 have generally presented with milder symptoms. However, the impact of COVID-19 among Canadian children remains unclear. The prevalence of COVID-19 in children in Canada is currently unknown and no published research exists regarding the risk factors of COVID-19 in children or its potential long-term health effects on physical health or development. Using TARGet Kids!, Canada's largest children's cohort study with over 11,000 children involved, the researchers will conduct a longitudinal observational study aimed to evaluate the cumulative incidence of COVID-19 in children and parents; differences among infected and uninfected children in terms of age, sex, and income; risk factors of COVID-19; and longer term health effects of COVID-19 among children. Given the rapid spread of COVID-19 and the unknown health effects of the virus in children, research must be conducted to determine the extent of infections of COVID-19 in children, disease severity, risk factors for infection, and how the virus affects children as they become older.
The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Early research
has suggested that children may experience less severe clinical symptoms than adults, and
infected children with minimal or no symptoms may be an underrecognized source of community
disease transmission. COVID-19 infections in children were occurring very early in the
epidemic but the impact of COVID-19 infection among children remains unclear. The number of
COVID-19 infections in children and parents in Canada is unknown and studies have not
evaluated the symptom severity of COVID-19 in children and parents, risk factors for
infection and severe disease, and whether current preventive efforts are effective. Using
TARGet Kids!, Canada's largest children's cohort study, the researchers will conduct an
observational study to evaluate key epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 among parents
and children, as well as to determine the spectrum of disease severity, seroprevalence, risk
factors for COVID-19 infection and severe disease, effectiveness of social isolation
recommendations, risk to family members with a COVID-19 infected family member, and potential
new strategies to prevent COVID-19 infection and minimize disease severity. Parents of 1082
existing TARGet Kids! participants will be asked to provide a nasal swab from themselves and
their child during the pandemic in addition to a respiratory tract symptom checklist.
Preventive efforts (e.g. social distancing), parent-reported illness, laboratory-confirmed
infections and healthcare encounters (e.g. emergency department visits, hospitalizations and
ICU care) will be measured. Children will subsequently be followed through the TARGet Kids!
cohort study over the next 6 months and long term, with interim analyses at 3 months. By
understanding every stage of COVID-19 infection from prevention to transmission in the
community and home, to outpatient and hospital care utilization, the researchers will rapidly
develop new interventions to prevent COVID-19 transmission and minimize disease severity
among children and their families. Descriptive statistics will be used to determine the
prevalence of COVID-19 in healthy children.
Inclusion Criteria:
- Families with existing participants of the TARGet Kids! cohort with children between
the ages of 0-16 years.
Exclusion Criteria:
- Families who are not participating in the TARGet Kids! cohort or participating
families with no children within the age of eligibility.
St Michael's Hospital
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Hospital for Sick Children
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Dalah C Mason, MPH
416-813-7654 - 302129
dalah.mason@sickkids.ca
Natricha Levy McFarlane, MPhil
416-813-7654 - 309441
natricha.levymcfarlane@sickkids.ca
Catherine S Birken, MD, Principal Investigator
The Hospital for Sick Children