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Pediatricians seeing more kids reporting long-COVID symptoms

Doctors with Children's National Hospital and Kaiser Permanente urge parents to get their children vaccinated.

WASHINGTON — Pediatricians in the Greater Washington area said they're seeing more kids coming in, complaining of long-COVID symptoms and they're concerned about long-term impacts.

“I'm seeing a lot of this long-COVID, which is really what scares me as well," Dr. Christina Brown, a pediatrician with Kaiser Permanente said. "I just this week saw a child who used to be an excellent soccer player. And ever since they had COVID, a few weeks ago, just getting winded walking up the stairs.”

Dr. Alexandra Younts, a pediatric infectious disease attending Children's National Hospital, said the most common post- or long-COVID symptom she's encountered is fatigue.

Some other kids have been exhibiting dizziness, palpitation, chest pain, shortness of breath, headaches, stomach aches, loss of taste and smell and even an unusual foot rash.

Dr. Younts is currently working on the Children's National Pediatric Post-COVID program which the hospital started in May 2021 to give families one site to address all their kids' needs.

So far, she said the clinic has treated 36 patients and has a waiting list of 30 more from all over the country.

RELATED: Yes, kids can get long COVID, even if they were asymptomatic or had mild cases

“We worry about their ability to exercise and stay healthy and eat well, but there have been some kids that have been in the running for college athletic scholarships, but because of COVID have had a complete halt to their sport, that's no longer an option for them," Dr. Younts said. "And kids that have had to drop out of college for a semester because they just don't have the energy. So, you know, these are all things that have [a] long-term career in life, you know, potential implications or at least are additional barriers.”

She said pretty much all of their patients hadn't been vaccinated before they caught COVID-19 -- either because they weren't yet eligible or they just hadn't gotten it.

“I see a lot of families that say I wish we had just gotten vaccinated," Dr. Brown said. "We didn't think we would have these kinds of effects afterward. So a lot of regret there.”

In kids ages five to 11, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports that 29% have gotten one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and 20% are fully vaccinated.

Children's National has cited studies, saying up to one-third of kids in total exhibit post-COVID symptoms.

Both doctors agree that the best defense against the virus and consequently these symptoms are the COVID-19 vaccine.

Dr. Brown is also worried about kids' overall health. 

She said some families haven’t stepped foot in a doctor’s office since the pandemic started, and she’s concerned they’re missing other vital vaccinations and development checks.

She highly encourages all parents to make sure their kids have an annual physical – and to get their kids the COVID-19 shot.

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