Short Term Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination in Children in Korea |
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| Authors: | Hyunju Lee Eun Hwa Choi Young-Joon Park Young June Choe |
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| Affiliation: | 1.Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.;2.Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.;3.Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University Children’s Hospital, Seoul, Korea.;4.Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Korea.;5.Department of Pediatrics, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea. |
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| Abstract: | BackgroundThe epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has changed continuously throughout the pandemic.MethodsWe analyzed changes in the incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection according to the age group in South Korea from February 2020 to December 2021.ResultsSince the COVID-19 pandemic, the incidence among adults aged ≥ 18 years was higher than all the other age groups in 2020; however, a shift toward younger ages occurred in June 2021. In addition, we found significant changes in epidemiology after the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines in adults aged ≥ 18 and children 12–17 years. Until recently, children were not regarded as the drive for the pandemic; however, children aged 5–11 and 0–4 years had the highest incidence among all the age groups.ConclusionTherefore, policies for clinical support for an increase in COVID-19 cases among young children and age-specific preventive measures are needed. |
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| Keywords: | COVID-19 Child Adolescent Korea Vaccine |
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