Under-diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections among children aged 0–15 years, a nationwide seroprevalence study, Israel, January 2020 to March 2021
Victoria Indenbaum, Yaniv Lustig, Ella Mendelson, Yael Hershkovitz, Aharona Glatman‐Freedman, Lital Keinan‐Boker, Ravit Bassal
Abstract
Until recently, children and adolescents were not eligible for COVID-19 vaccination. They may have been a considerable source of SARS-CoV-2 spread. We evaluated SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody seroprevalence in Israeli children aged 0-15 years from January 2020 to March 2021. Seropositivity was 1.8-5.5 times higher than COVID-19 incidence rates based on PCR testing. We found that SARS-CoV-2 infection among children is more prevalent than previously thought and emphasise the importance of seroprevalence studies to accurately estimate exposure.
Topics & Concepts
SeroprevalenceMedicineSevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Incidence (geometry)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)2019-20 coronavirus outbreakVaccinationPediatricsEpidemiologyDemographyVirologySerologyAntibodyImmunologyOutbreakInternal medicineInfectious disease (medical specialty)DiseaseOpticsPhysicsSociologySARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchCOVID-19 Clinical Research StudiesLong-Term Effects of COVID-19