LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The combined effects from the COVID-19 pandemic of school closures, limited visits with extended family, and social isolation are taking a toll on children.

But hopefully this will change, once the vaccines now being administered to adults are approved for children.

The most severe COVID-19 infection cases typically involve adults, but medical experts like Norton Healthcare's Dr. Kris Bryant want parents to know kids are still at risk.

"If we look from the start of the pandemic, 2.8 million children across the US have been infected with COVID-19. Now, fortunately, most of the kids have a mild disease, and some have had no symptoms at all. If you take 100 kids who are infected with the virus, one or two will need to be admitted to the hospital; and if you look at just the kids who are hospitalized, one in three will need intensive care."

There is also the threat of multi-system inflammatory syndrome

"This is, fortunately, a rare complication of COVID-19, but it happens two to four weeks after acute infection, and it is an illness that causes fever and inflammation of the internal organs, the heart, the lungs, the intestines. There may be a rash, and this can be a severe condition, even life-threatening, and parents need to know about that, and this can happen even in kids symptoms with their initial infection," Bryant said. 

So far, no vaccines have been approved for use in children, which could be changing soon, according to Bryant.

"The studies need to be done looking at the dose children need and the number of doses they need," Bryant said. "So that's what will be evaluated in the clinical trials as we move to younger children and smaller children. They may need a different dose than what adults need, but that's really what the clinical trials are designed to figure out." 

Bryant stressed that parents should always seek out medical treatment if their child is having symptoms of COVID-19.