SEATTLE — While keeping kids home from school last year helped keep them safe from COVID-19 it also prevented the spread of the flu or a cold.
What does that mean for children's immune systems this year? Could kids be more at risk of minor illnesses?
Dr. Elizabeth Meade, medical director of Pediatric Quality & Safety at Swedish Medical Center, said kids’ immune systems are strong, but some illnesses are already spreading ahead of schedule.
Cold and flu season typically arrives in late fall and stretches into winter but Meade said Swedish has seen a spike in certain illness already this year.
"We've seen lots of infections like RSV, and other viruses that typically we really only see in the winter,” Meade said.
Meade said the spike aligns with certain COVID-19 restrictions lifting and people gathering together again.
While COVID-19 is top of mind in the classroom, another virus to be mindful of is RSV, also known as Respiratory Syncytial Virus.
"We've seen about a six-fold increase from the end of June until now in terms of numbers of weekly positive RSV tests,” Meade said.
RSV acts as your typical cold for adults and older kids but is much more dangerous for infants.
"Because those young babies airways are so small, they can often have difficulty breathing and end up needing some oxygen and other respiratory support in the hospital,” she explained.
But are kids' immune systems less likely to fight off germs after so much time apart from others their age? Meade said not necessarily, but they may be more likely to catch illnesses quicker than in previous years.
"Most kids don't get an infection and then get that same virus infection, you know, within a month or so, but they might get it six or 12 months later and that's totally normal. So, I think what we're going to see, and what we are seeing is that there's going to be a little bit of a shrinking of that time period in terms of when kids are getting all the things they haven't been exposed to for a long time,” she explained.
Meade said the flu is still one of the most dangerous viruses for children. She encouraged parents to get their kids a flu shot.