Insight into the pediatric and adult dichotomy of COVID‐19: Age‐related differences in the immune response to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection

• Published in: Pediatric pulmonology Vol. 55; no. 10; pp. 2556 - 2564
• Main Authors: Fialkowski, Allison, Gernez, Yael, Arya, Puneeta, Weinacht, Katja G., Kinane, T. Bernard, Yonker, Lael M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01.10.2020
• Subjects: Adaptive Immunity; Adult; age‐related immune response; Aging - immunology; Child; childhood COVID‐19; Coronaviruses; COVID-19 - immunology; Humans; Immunity, Innate; Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children; pediatric COVID‐19; Pediatrics; SARS-CoV-2 - physiology; SARS‐CoV‐2 infection; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome - immunology; Virus Internalization; SARS-CoV-2 infection; age-related immune response; childhood COVID-19; pediatric COVID-19
• ISSN: 8755-6863; 1099-0496
• DOI: 10.1002/ppul.24981

The difference in morbidity and mortality between adult and pediatric coronavirus disease 2019 infections is dramatic. Understanding pediatric‐specific acute and delayed immune responses to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) is critical for the development of vaccination strategies, immune‐targeted therapies, and treatment and prevention of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children. The goal of this review is to highlight research developments in the understanding of the immune responses to SARS‐CoV‐2 infections, with a specific focus on age‐related immune responses.