- [Alok] So imagine if you have a bunch of kids hanging out together who are not wearing masks, not physically distancing.

- [Bethany] Picking their noses and eating it.

- [Alok] And they don't have have really bad symptoms.

So they don't necessarily know that they're infected.

Like this is a recipe for another outbreak that's brought on by the kids.

(gentle music) Some people out there have said, "Hey, you know, children are less susceptible to getting COVID-19."

A, that's not necessarily true.

They can absolutely catch this Coronavirus.

Kids are most likely to present with fever and cough most likely but they can- - In certain group of kids.

- Certain groups of kids.

There's a whole other cohort of kids that didn't present with that.

They presented with abdominal pain, with body aches, with diarrhea, with shortness of breath.

- And then there are the kids that don't fall into that broad, broad term general.

There are kids who have different underlying health conditions where amongst that group of kids, it is a big problem.

- Parents have to be especially aware if their kids have any type of chronic illnesses.

So we're talking diabetes, heart disease, cancer.

If they have anything that's kind of compromising their immune system, your kid doesn't necessarily fit in the category that somebody is speaking about when they're talking about the risk to children.

It's all individualized.

- My daughter, Lulu is eight and a half.

I'd better get that right.

Lulu has down syndrome.

She's very high risk for COVID and it's not because of her intellectual developmental disability.

It's because of her proclivity to respiratory illness.

- We've already talked about general symptoms of COVID-19 in kids.

Fever, cough, sore, throat, body, aches, diarrhea, all these things.

We also have to think about your child's potential exposure.

It's never wrong to check in with your doctor or healthcare provider and say like, "Hey, my child may have been exposed.

Should we get a test?

What do we do?"

Your doctor will tell you if a telehealth visit is best, or if you should come and get your child tested.

Studies have shown that kids above the age of 10 can be as likely to transmit the virus as adults are even if they don't get as severe symptoms.

One study even suggests that kids, even if they have mild or no symptoms can actually carry an unusually high number of viral particles, even as many as might be present in a very sick adult.

So if your child does have COVID-19, it's really important, to try and protect yourself and anyone else in the household from catching it.

Best to try to have only one person care for the child and to keep everyone else, including pets away as much as possible.

If possible, try to have that child use a separate bathroom and eat in separate areas and make sure everyone in the house is washing their hands a lot.

And if the child is over two both the child and whoever's taken care of the child should wear masks when they're in the same room.

I've heard a lot of questions about PIMS or MIS-C. What we suspected is as a post viral inflammatory state that can target the blood vessels and your kids can present with the usual symptoms of COVID-19, but they can also present with things like shortness of breath, change in skin color, headache.

Kind of feeling like altered mental status, like they're dizzy, really bad abdominal pain.

If you notice any of these symptoms in your child with a fever of 100.4 or more call your child's doctor right away.

And seek emergency care if your child is showing any of these warning signs of MIS-C, trouble breathing, pain or pressure in the chest, that doesn't go away, new confusion, inability to wake up or stay awake, bluish lips or face or severe abdominal pain.

Now take a deep breath and remember that MIS-C while serious is treatable.

Doctors can provide treatment to reduce the inflammation and protect the heart, kidneys and other organs from lasting damage.

And another thing- - There's always one more thing with COVID.

- Parents should ask about what schools are doing to protect your children.

To protect their children and their faculty.

Like are the schools able to actually keep children apart?

What it is their ventilation situation look like?

Can they create physical barriers in the cafeteria?

Will the cafeteria even be open?

- What is the student population at each school?

My daughter's school is second grade to 12th grade.

It's a huge range.

High schoolers are doing a really different thing.

And then how do you institute different protocols for different students?

It's so complicated.

- Best case scenario.

Everyone is wearing a mask and is six feet apart at all times.

Common spaces are closed, hand washing and disinfecting is happening all the time.

And schools are well ventilated, but remember not every school district has the same amount of resources.

And so not every school can implement every single recommendation.

And for younger students, students with sensory issues or with certain medical diagnoses wearing a mask could be a real challenge.

So schools have to take all of this into account and make a plan.

- I've heard if anyone presents with symptoms, they will be quarantined in a COVID suspected area, find out what that area is.

Is it the gym?

Or is it like a tiny little closet?

Who is gonna be with that kid?

Is the kid going to be alone?

Like those are super important questions.

- Or will they be sent home?

Students who develop symptoms at school should be isolated and eventually sent home, or they should seek medical care depending on their symptoms.

And also it's up to the school to notify people who have been in close contact with that person, contact tracing.

And they also have to be really careful about disinfecting anything that child, teacher, whoever is sick may have come in contact with.

And so I think parents should unfortunately be prepared for the rollback and schools to shut down at any point, or students to be asked to go home and quarantine or for test results to not come back for two weeks.

I'ma throw this chair.

- Throw a chair at coronavirus.

- And it's little spike protein looking like it's all tough.

Scientists are constantly hypothesizing, questioning and trying to figure out all these unknowns about the virus.

And one of the big unknowns is why is it that a lot of younger children tend to do okay with COVID-19.

They don't have as severe symptoms.

And there's a couple of ideas.

One of them is a it's possible that these young immune systems are just more primed for dealing with a new infection.

Another one is that it's possible that kids have seen other members of the coronavirus family.

Remember there's four other ones that we see seasonally.

It's possible there might be some crosstalk in the immune system.

- Maybe it's because kids lung cells are smaller or more slippery.

- So it just can't- - And COVID can't latch on.

- Another theory is about genetics and about the receptors in which the Coronavirus latches onto.

These are called ACE-2 receptors.

Some scientists theorize that children have less of these ACE-2 receptors.

So the Coronavirus has a harder time latching on and replicating.

These receptors are more plentiful as humans get older and in different people.

- So my theory about slippery lung cells in toddlers was kind of right, is what you're saying.

And thank you, thank you.

No problem.

- Instead of slippery lung cells, maybe it was like a rock climbing wall with less grips Could do it.

It would just be way harder.

And if you put like a thousand rock climbers on it, not as many would succeed.

- I was getting to the rock climber thing.

I was on my exploratory path.