This is sad news.
On February 15, a 3-year-old girl in Hong Kong died of COVID-19.
This is the youngest COVID-19 death in nearly two years.
Image source: Screenshot of the Hong Kong government press release
This is not the first case of child death in the Hong Kong epidemic this time, just last week, a 4-year-old boy in Hong Kong vomited a fever after contracting the new crown and was sent to the hospital.
Two consecutive cases of child COVID-19 deaths in a short period of time are enough to attract the attention of health institutions and the whole people.
When the mother saw the most touched, only 3, 4 years old baby ah!
In the past two years, I have gradually become accustomed to the ups and downs of the epidemic, wearing a mask when I go out and showing a green code at any time. It seems that the vigilance against the epidemic has gradually relaxed. Today's news has once again sounded a wake-up call for us.
The protection against the epidemic cannot be relaxed at all times.
Maria VanKelkhof, WHO's technical chief for covid-19, said the sheer number of known Cases in Omiclon was "staggering". "The virus is still dangerous," she said. ”
In fact, in January this year, There were also 4 infant and young child new crown cases in Hangzhou Fuyang, the youngest of which was only 5 months old, and the largest was only 14 months old, and these small patients all went to the Gutian Global ImportEd Maternal and Infant Life Hall in Fuyang District.
Image source: Screenshot of the Health Times report
Image source: Hangzhou City Express news photo
While feeling sad about the death of this 3-year-old baby and the case of infected infants and young children.
What we must not forget is:
Once the high-risk alarm of the epidemic is raised, children can be said to be one of the weakest groups.
Liu Yulong, Chairman of the Hong Kong Science Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases, reminded that the symptoms of infection in young children are more numerous and complex than those of adults, such as reduced activity, shortness of breath, cold hands and feet, vomiting, etc., which are all dangerous signs.
How to do a good job in protecting children and young babies against the epidemic is the first thing we need to pay attention to as mothers.
Be protected when you go out
1. Be sure to wear a mask when you go out. When traveling to public places, seeking medical treatment and taking public transportation, it is best to wear a medical surgical mask or N95 mask.
Adult masks are too large, children wear tight fit is not strict, should choose children's masks for children. For young children, masks are not convenient for children to breathe, and parents should observe the child's status at any time. Infants under 1 year old are usually not suitable for wearing masks, there is a risk of hypoxia, and should be avoided.
Wear the mask correctly tip:
Teach children to identify the front and back of the mask;
When wearing a mask, you need to press the metal strips on both sides of the nose bridge with both hands, so that the upper end of the mask is close to the bridge of the nose, and then stretch the mask downwards so that there are no folds on both sides of the mask, covering the nose, mouth and chin.
Image source: Guangdong Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention
2. Do not expose your child to and eat wild animals and avoid going to markets selling live animals.
3. Avoid going to medium- and high-risk areas. Try not to take public transportation when going out, and if you want to take it, keep at least 1 meter away from others as much as possible.
Don't slack off at home
Returning home from a public place, the protection work still cannot be relaxed, and the daily work to be done at home is:
1. The room is ventilated, and the windows can be opened once in the morning and once in the afternoon for 15 to 30 minutes each time.
2. When someone in the family has symptoms such as fever, dry cough, sore throat, etc., avoid contact with the child and maintain a distance of more than 1 meter.
3. Wash your hands when you go out to go home, before eating and after using the toilet, WHO recommends the use of a 6-step handwashing method.
Image credit: WHO website
4. Items that children often touch (such as tableware and toys) should be disinfected regularly. There are several alternative disinfection methods:
Heat at 56°C for 30 minutes;
75% alcohol/chlorine disinfectant (e.g. 84 disinfectant) soaked/wiped;
Ultraviolet radiation (can also be used for indoor disinfection, but people should not be present at the same time).
5. A balanced diet, appropriately increase the intake of high-quality protein such as fish, eggs and milk, soybean nuts and soy nuts.
6. Promote meal sharing and chopsticks.
7. Keep your mouth healthy, children within 7 years old need parental help brushing their teeth.
Vaccinations are necessary
Vaccinations are a powerful weapon in the fight against COVID-19.
Many areas have opened up the COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 3-11 years old, and many parents are worried about their children being infected by the new crown virus on the one hand, and still have concerns about vaccination on the other hand.
Zhang Yuntao, chairman of the Quality Committee of the China Vaccine Association, said: In fact, now the child has become a group of people attacked by the virus, a sensitive group, so vaccination at this age is still very necessary!
According to the clinical trial data of the new crown vaccine and the data obtained in the age group of 3 to 17 years old, the safety of children is still very good, and the incidence of adverse reactions is slightly lower than the data of the entire adult population.
Experts said that a few days before vaccination or on the day of vaccination, if the child has symptoms of physical discomfort such as fever, cough, diarrhea, or during the acute onset of chronic diseases, it is recommended to postpone the vaccination and then vaccinate after the symptoms basically subside.
Children with food allergies should be vaccinated if they are in the acute reaction period of allergies, or if eczema, atopic dermatitis, etc. appear on the skin at the vaccination site; if there are no symptoms of these allergies, all vaccinations can be given normally. In addition, the new crown vaccine is not recommended to be given at the same time as other vaccines.
Children under the age of 3 cannot be vaccinated against COVID-19, so adults should receive the COVID-19 vaccine to build an immune barrier for their families, especially children, to block the spread of the new crown virus.
I hope everyone can be healthy and the epidemic will end as soon as possible!
bibliography
· Jiang Rongmeng,Xie Zhengde,etc. Expert Consensus on diagnosis, treatment and prevention of novel coronavirus infection in children (third edition)[J]. Chinese Clinical Journal of Practical Pediatrics, 2021, 36(10):721-732.
· Parenteral Nutrition Branch of Chinese Medical Association (CSPEN) "Expert Advice on Dietary Nutrition for the Prevention and Treatment of Novel Coronavirus Infection"
· National Health Commission "Technical Guidelines for COVID-19 Vaccination (First Edition)"
· Basic public health service project publicity platform "How to inject the new crown vaccine?" 》