In a study published in the journal Lancet Child and Adolescent Health, infections were seen to be rare in newborn babies. The study was conducted in the United Kingdom in hospitals across the country during the first wave of the pandemic. The babies were less than 29 years old. 66 babies were seen to be infected with COVID-19. Thus, the incidence of being infected with COVID-19 as a newborn is 1/1785, or 0.06% of live births. This number is significantly lower than the general population.
Half of the babies who got severe infection were Black, Asian, or minority groups. This seems to reflect the general trend that people of color get infected more, maybe due to socioeconomic barriers and racism. Additionally, a quarter of those children infected were born prematurely, and this is significantly higher than the general rates for the children in the UK.
None of the babies died from the infection. 17 of the 66 babies probably got COVID-19 from the mother at least within a week after birth, six probably got it from the hospital. Two of the babies may have gotten infected in the womb.
The study concludes it will need to follow-up with reasons why infection seems rare in newborns. It also would like to study the reasons why infections seem to be more predominant among newborns of color, as this data is troubling. Overall, this study provides some assurance to parents that COVID-19 infection may be rare in babies.
Fan
Sources:
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/article/PIIS2352-4642(20)30342-4/fulltext
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