A new report indicates that nearly one-third of children in Florida tested were positive for the novel coronavirus, as a doctor is warning of potential lung damage even in children presumed to be asymptomatic.
Dr. Alina Alonso, director of the Palm Beach County’s Health Department, expressed concerns about her findings that indicated changes to the lungs of asymptomatic children, according to the Sun Sentinel.
Although asymptomatic people typically have no physical symptoms at the onset, Alonso has concerns about how the damage to children’s lungs will manifest as they continue to grow.
“They are seeing there is damage to the lungs in these asymptomatic children. We don’t know how that is going to manifest a year from now or two years from now,” Alonso said. “Is that child going to have chronic pulmonary problems or not?”
According to Florida’s COVID-19 pediatric report, a total of 16,797 out of 54,022 Florida residents under the age of 18 had been tested for coronavirus, as of Friday. The total number of positive tests accounts for roughly 31% of children tested.
Alonso also tackled the notion of herd immunity as she stressed the extent of how the novel coronavirus differs from viruses healthcare professionals have seen in the past.
“This is not the virus you bring everybody together to make sure you catch it and get it over with,” Alonso said. “This is something serious, and we are learning new information about this virus every day.”
Alonso’s also revealed “changes in the lungs that have occurred” in children aged 5 to 14 who have tested positive.
According to Alonso, doctors “have no idea what the long-term effect of this will be.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) previously noted that children were “less likely to be symptomatic and less likely to have severe disease” as a result of contracting coronavirus.
On Friday, however, the AAP has also stressed on the topic of reopening schools in the Fall: “We should leave it to health experts to tell us when the time is best to open up school buildings.”
As of Wednesday morning, there are more than 291,629 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state of Florida and a death toll of 4,409. Four children in Florida under the age of 18 have died of coronavirus.