COVID, MASKS, VACCINES AND CHILDREN - A STUDY.
High frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children admitted to academic hospitals in central South Africa O P Khaliq, MMedSc, PhD ; S C Brown, MMed (Paeds), PhD ; B Pitso,MB ChB, MMed (Paeds) ; N E Tabane, MB ChB, MMed (Paeds) Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa Corresponding author: O Khaliq (khaliqop@ufs.ac.za) The COVID‑19 pandemic affected the globe from 2020 to 2023, following its discovery in December 2019 in Wuhan, China.[1] Globally, >2.6 million cases and 17 000 deaths were reported from 17 April 2023 to 14 May 2023.[2] The virus has mutated rapidly since its discovery, resulting in different variants worldwide.[3] However, vaccinations for COVID‑19 were manufactured to protect individuals from severe complications after infection.[4] The safety of these vaccines in children was unknown. Therefore, children under the age of 12 years were ...