Most kids with coronavirus do not develop fever, study finds

More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, most are well aware that the symptoms of a COVID-19 infection often include fever, cough and shortness of breath. But the same may not be true for one group of people: children. A new study published in the journal Scientific Reports this week found that most children who contract the virus do not develop fever.

The researchers used data from electronic medical records of 33 health care organizations across the country. All patients analyzed were under the age of 18 and were diagnosed with COVID-19 between April 1 — Oct. 31, 2020.  The researchers found that only 16.5% of children studied developed respiratory problems, despite the fact COVID-19 is considered a respiratory disease. What’s more, only 18.8% of the pediatric patients reported symptoms such as muscle aches, joint pain, general malaise and the loss of taste or smell — the last of which has become a tell-tale sign of coronavirus infection, mainly in adults.