Incidence of COVID-19 in the pediatric population aged 0 to 10 years. Cuba, 2020-2022
Keywords:
Incidence; COVID-19; epidemiology; pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2; Delta; OmicronAbstract
Introduction: Globally, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, pediatric cases represented a small proportion of total infections. With the emergence of the Omicron variant, infections in children increased significantly, altering the epidemiological outlook of this population.
Objective: To describe the incidence of COVID-19 in children aged 0-10 years with reported disease, from March 15, 2020 to October 31, 2022.
Material and Methods: An observational, descriptive, longitudinal, and retrospective population-based time series study was conducted on 3,177,224 children from 0 to 10 years. The incidence was calculated using age- and time-specific rates, with data from national registries.
Results: There was an increase in confirmed cases from week 13, peaking up on week 52, 2020. In 2021, the epidemic wave caused by the Delta variant began on week 24, which was contained by the start of mass adult vaccination on week 25 and the pediatric vaccination on week 36. During the Omicron wave of January–April 2022, the incidence rate in children under one year of age was higher compared to other age groups.
Conclusions: The incidence of COVID-19 in children aged 0–10 years showed temporal variations associated with the different epidemic waves. Children under two years of age consistently had the highest rates. The introduction of vaccination coincided with a reduction in incidence.
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