THE pandemic has been dragging on for more than a year now in Malaysia. Our educational experts are already labelling the current generation of school-goers as a lost generation. Though they may be right, what saddens me more is that this pandemic has also claimed the lives of young little ones. Though a few of them might have had some form of chronic comorbidities, their young lives were cut short even further by the dreaded Covid-19.
From the daily announcement of deaths via the official website, our team of researchers obtained the following data which really disturbed us:
From the total of 2,867 (as per June 1, 2021), 15 (0.52%) deaths occurred among those below the age of 18. From statistics released by the Statistics Department in 2017, the population of those below the age of 18 accounts for 30% of our general population (or roughly 9.6 million).
From this, we calculated that the rough estimate of deaths due to Covid-19 among our children aged below 18 is about two in a million (with the reported 82,341 cases among children accounting for 14.21% of all cases, with their case fatality rate at 0.02%). Though the number might be minute, it is still the loss of young children from something that is perhaps avoidable if adults remain vigilant on their behalf.
From our data, the following 15 deaths can be described as follows:
From the table, we can see that 60% of all deaths below 18 have come from 2021, and we are just only halfway through the year! The highest number of cases came from the group aged 0-4 years old and the majority of deaths were seen in the state of Sabah (66.67%). The average time of admission to deaths was 7.71 days, and 60% of the children had some form of comorbidities.
The common comorbidities that the children suffered were being immunocompromised or having some form of cancer (66.66%). From the total, four (26.67%) were foreigners or stateless children. It was also disturbing to learn that four (26.67%) of the children were brought in dead.
Discussion
From the data released two days ago, it was reported that the majority of cases among those below 18 came from the 13- to 17-year-old group (27,402 or 33.28%), followed by the 7- to 12-year-old group (26,851 or 31.61%), then by the 0- to 4-year-old group (19,851 or 24.11%), and lastly, the 5- to 6-year-old group (8,237 or 10%). We then used our data to tabulate the following:
We know the fact that it is difficult to apply standard operating procedures to children. Face-masking is not suitable for those below 2, and those that are above that age and perhaps below 5 are not very good at complying with it. It is also difficult for children to comprehend the concept of physical distancing, especially when they are in areas like schools in the company of other children. Thus, the case fatality rate among all the children who lost their lives in the 0-4 years group comes as no surprise.
We also see a similar case fatality rate in the 13- to 17-year-old group. This can be attributed to a few things. It might be poor compliance among students with the wearing of masks, especially during unsupervised hours (outside school, and perhaps, in other educational centres outside school).
Among the reasons cited by many parents in the past is the cost of face masks for students. It should be a policy by the Education Ministry to provide each student with a face mask on a daily basis. Also, the provisions of face shields will also be helpful as they are one-off purchases. This can help curb the spread especially in school-going children, as we see that 65.88% of cases come from those above the age of 7.
There must also be consideration for the Education Ministry to ensure that schools are well-ventilated (proper inflow and outflow of air), especially in classrooms, to avoid viral spread within schools. Many keep forgetting that schools consist of the children attending and the workers present to ensure that education takes place, i.e. teachers, canteen workers, and other office and associate staff. We must ensure that these individuals are educated (especially on Covid-19 spread and the importance of ventilation) and vaccinated before the lockdown on schools is lifted, so that our children can return to a safer environment.
The government must keep close tabs on new data coming out on Covid-19 vaccination among students. Singapore has already started registering students for this. Why should we be left behind? Let’s vaccinate our community (those above 18) with vaccines that are not suitable for those below 18, and reserve certain brands shown to be effective in children above the age of 12 so that we achieve herd immunity in Malaysia.
For all age groups, it is vital that parents and caretakers do not allow their children to unnecessarily leave home and be exposed to the virus outside. It is highly important that parents play a more active role in ensuring this. We are at another peak that requires everyone to do their bit. – The Vibes, June 4, 2021
