With the daily stream of new information, it is difficult to keep up with data on how the coronavirus epidemic affects children and school attendance, and how pediatricians can advise parents. The following is a summary of recently published information about birth and infant outcomes, and symptoms seen in infants and children, along with a review of recent information on transmission in schools.
COVID-19 in Newborns
In November 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published datafrom 16 jurisdictions detailing pregnancy and infant outcomes of more than 5000 women with SARS-CoV-2 infection. The data were collected from March to October 2020. More than 80% of the women found to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 were identified during their third trimester. The surveillance found that 12.9% of infants born to infected mothers were born preterm, compared with an expected rate in the population of approximately 10%, suggesting that third-trimester infection may be associated with an increase in premature birth. Among 610 infants born to infected mothers and tested for SARS-CoV-2 during their nursery stay, 2.6% were positive. The infant positivity rate was as high as 4.3% among infants who were born to women with a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection within 2 weeks of the delivery date. No newborn infections were found among the infants whose mothers' infection occurred more than 14 days before delivery. Current
