MOSCOW, March 10. /TASS/. Children are more susceptible to new coronavirus strains that are currently spreading in Europe, Yevgeny Timakov, chief physician of the Leader of Medicine medical center and specialist in infectious diseases and vaccines, told TASS on Wednesday.
"These strains affect children to a greater extent than the previous ones. The virus is mutating, changing in such a way to affect more people, go past various immune barriers, find loopholes in our immune system, and cover all segments of the population. This is its normal evolution, this is how it’s always been and will be with every virus. New strains are more contagious," he stated.
He noted, however, that although children are more susceptible to new strains, they will usually face a light or asymptomatic case, without serious consequences. When asked about COVID-19 vaccination, Timanov noted that there is no need for it when it comes to children under 12 years of age.
"I am a supporter of vaccination, but when it comes to the coronavirus, I would mull over whether children under 10-12 years of age, before they hit puberty, should get the coronavirus vaccine, because the infection is not as dangerous to them as for adults. People who are under risk, including children in risk groups, require the vaccine more," the doctor explained.
In late January, Deputy Director of Russia’s Central Research Institute of Epidemiology Alexander Gorelov informed that children account for about 8-10% of all COVID-19 patients in Russia, with the highest number of infected children recorded in the 13-15 age group.