Health ministry required to issue guidance on COVID-19 treatment protocols for children
Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked the Ministry of Health (MoH) to urgently complete and issue guidelines on COVID-19 treatment protocols for people under 18 years old, especially children under 12.
Students from Pham Tu primary school in Hanoi's Thanh Tri district in class after returning to school. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has asked theMinistry of Health (MoH) to urgently complete and issue guidelines on COVID-19treatment protocols for people under 18 years old, especially children under12.
He asked the ministry to immediately organise training for hospitals across thecountry in order to minimise the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 infection in thepaediatric wards or cause an overload of patients.
The ministry was also required to guide localities to have plans for volunteersto support medical facilities if needed.
The MoH, the Ministry of Information and Communications, agencies andlocalities must also strengthen communication to get the cooperation offamilies, parents and teachers in ensuring safety for children.
The overall risk of children becoming severely ill or dying from COVID isextremely low, doctors say.
According to a MoH's report, the death rate for Vietnamese under 17 who areinfected is about 0.34 percent (about 130 children) of the total number ofCOVID-related deaths in Vietnam.
The rate of severe illness after suffering from post-COVID-19 in this group isalso very low, the report said.
However, Prof. Dr. Phan Trong Lan, director of the Department of PreventiveMedicine said children with COVID-19 are also at risk of developing long-termsymptoms.
Even children who’d had mild initial symptoms, or were asymptomatic, were notspared from these long-lasting effects.
For some, they experienced headache, fatigue, muscle pain, diarrhoea, and jointpain. Some were suffering physical decline, prolonged coughing, and anxiety - apattern seen in adults with long COVID.
Others had been diagnosed with Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children(MIS-C).
In some cases, children became worse and required mechanical ventilation,dialysis, and long-term treatment after being negative for COVID for two orthree weeks later, said Nguyen Trong Nghia, Deputy Director of Dong NaiChildren's Hospital.
To promptly detect post-COVID symptoms in children, families need to closelymonitor, even 2-3 months later, and go to see the doctor if they have anyserious physical or mental concerns about their kids./.
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Students from Pham Tu primary school in Hanoi's Thanh Tri district in class after returning to school. (Photo: VNA) 
