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High fever and shivering are the common symptoms found in COVID-19 infected children and adolescents in the age group of 11-17 years, informed Dr Dhiren Gupta, Paediatric Pulmonologist at Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, Dr Gupta who has been treating COVID-19 infected children and adolescents said, "Children and adolescents between the age group of 11 to 17 years who are infected with coronavirus infection are witnessing high fever and shivering."
According to the health expert, COVID-19 infected infants under two years of age are also witnessing high fever and shivering and some of them even require hospitalization.
"I have treated around nine infants infected with COVID-19, of which one required ventilation support. As is the case with other patients, infants required hospitalization because of high-grade fever," Dr Gupta said.
He further informed that the severity of the infection in adults is lesser as compared to that of delta variant of coronavirus while the same cannot be said for the infants.
"As per my experience, babies with less than two years of age belong to a high-risk group and the infection severity in them is almost same as that of delta variant. While those in the age bracket of 11- 18 years are having more symptoms but their case is not as severe as that of the delta," he added.
Speaking on the manifestations of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the health expert said, "This time, we have found that the virus primarily affects the upper respiratory tract of the patient. Thus, the infection exhibits symptoms like cold, headache, nasal discharge and fever with shivering."
Comparing the symptoms exhibited by coronavirus infection during the second wave to that of now, Dr Gupta said, "Contrary to the second wave, it is not very common for the Omicron patients to lose the sense of taste and smell. Only two to three per 10 patients are complaining about the loss of taste and smell. This also demonstrates that there is an overlapping between the clinical features of Omicron and delta."
The health expert also stated that the Omicron symptoms in vaccinated and healthy people are less severe than those who are unvaccinated, especially with comorbidities.
"The patients who are taking some immunosuppressant, they're predisposed to the lung involvement, that is, pneumonia. Till now, I have come across three patients who have developed pneumonia. They required steroids for the treatment," he added.
