Unvaccinated Children Are an Important Link in the Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B1.617.2): Comparative Clinical Evidence From a Recent Community Surge
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Abstract
To evaluate the necessity of Covid-19 vaccination in children aged < 12 y by comparing the clinical characteristics between unvaccinated children aged < 12 y and vaccinated patients aged ≥ 12y during the Delta surge (B.1.617.2) in Putian, Fujian, China.
Methods
A total of 226 patients with SARS-Cov-2 Delta variant (B.1.167.2; confirmed by Real-time PCR positivity and sequencing) were enrolled from Sep 10th to Oct 20th, 2021, including 77 unvaccinated children (aged < 12y) and 149 people aged ≥ 12y, mostly vaccinated. The transmission route was explored and the clinical data of two groups were compared; The effect factors for the time of the nucleic acid negativization (NAN) were examined by R statistical analysis.
Results
The Delta surge in Putian spread from children in schools to factories, mostly through family contact. Compared with those aged ≥ 12y, patients aged < 12y accounted for 34.07% of the total and showed milder fever, less cough and fatigue; they reported higher peripheral blood lymphocyte counts [1.84 (1.32, 2.71)×10^9/L vs. 1.31 (0.94, 1.85)×10^9/L; p <0.05), higher normal CRP rate (92.21% vs. 57.72%), lower IL-6 levels [5.28 (3.31, 8.13) vs. 9.10 (4.37, 15.14); p <0.05]. Upon admission, their COVID19 antibodies (IgM and IgG) and IgG in convalescence were lower [0.13 (0.00, 0.09) vs. 0.12 (0.03, 0.41), p <0.05; 0.02 (0.00, 0.14) vs. 1.94 (0.54, 6.40), p <0.05; 5.46 (2.41, 9.26) vs. 73.63 (54.63, 86.55), p <0.05, respectively], but longer NAN time (18 days vs. 16 days, p =0.13).
Conclusion
Unvaccinated children may be an important link in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 delta variant (B1.617.2), which indicated an urgent need of vaccination for this particular population.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2021.11.05.21265712: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:Some limitations still remain in this study: 1. Although the transmission route of all cases was relatively clear and complete, data only came from local patients of Putian, so no multi-center data are accessed. 2. Although COVID-19 antibodies IgM and IgG …
SciScore for 10.1101/2021.11.05.21265712: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics not detected. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Table 2: Resources
No key resources detected.
Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:Some limitations still remain in this study: 1. Although the transmission route of all cases was relatively clear and complete, data only came from local patients of Putian, so no multi-center data are accessed. 2. Although COVID-19 antibodies IgM and IgG had been detected, neutralizing antibody (RBD) was not tested and immunofunctional studies were not conducted. Further studies should be pursued to better evaluate the immune function of children age <12 in order to unravel the underlying mechanisms.
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
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