Kids 5 and younger could spread COVID-19 as much as adults, study findsChildren younger than 5 years with mild or moderate COVID-19 have much higher levels of coronavirus genetic material in their nose and throat than do older children and adults, according to a research letter published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics.Researchers at the Ann & Robert H.
Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and Northwestern University analyzed data from 145 kids within the first week of symptoms of mild or moderate coronavirus infection, comparing loads of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, in 46 children younger than 5 years, 51 children 5 to 17 years, and 48 adults 18 to 65 years old.Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction amplification cycle