Development of child immunity in the context of COVID-19 pandemic

Malgorzata Kloc (1) , Rafik M Ghobrial (1) , Ernest Kuchar (2) , Slawomir Lewicki (3) , Jacek Z. Kubiak (4)

1 The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center [Houston]
2 Medical University of Warsaw - Poland
3 WIHE - Military Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology
4 IGDR - Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes

Children, because of having an immature immune system, are usually more prone than the adults to the microbial infections and have more severe symptoms, which is especially true for the newborns, and very young children. However, the review of clinical data from the current COVID-19 pandemic indicates otherwise. We discuss here what are the main features and components of children's immune system, the role of maternal transmission of immunity, and what are the possible explanations for the seemingly lower infection rate and severity of COVI-19 in children.

Mots clés: COVID-19; Child immunity; Immune system development; Macrophages

Domaines: Immunité innée; Immunité adaptative

Malgorzata Kloc, Rafik M Ghobrial, Ernest Kuchar, Slawomir Lewicki, Jacek Z. Kubiak. Development of child immunity in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical Immunology, 2020, 217, pp.108510. ⟨10.1016/j.clim.2020.108510⟩. ⟨hal-02888595⟩