A Canadian study today in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that while younger children are less likely than older children to be the index COVID-19 patient in their home, they are more likely to spread it to household members.Led by researchers from Public Health Ontario in Toronto, the study involved 6,280 households with COVID-19 index patients 17 years and younger from Jun 1 to Dec 31, 2020.Of the 6,280 households, 1,717 (27.3%) experienced SARS-CoV-2 transmission to a median of two siblings or caregivers in the household 1 to 14 days after index patient diagnosis.
Children aged 0 to 8 had higher odds of transmitting the virus, but those 3 years and younger had the greatest infectivity (odds ratio [OR], 1.43 vs those 14 to 17 years).Similar odds