Children, Families Struggle with Repeated COVID-19 Infections

Most children who get COVID-19 show few to no usual signs of sickness.

Eight-year-old Brooklynn Chiles of Washington, D.C. is one such child. The young girl has tested positive for the virus three times. She is fully¹ vaccinated² against the coronavirus. She has never shown serious signs of the disease³.

Today, doctors are trying to understand why she keeps getting infected.

One time when she caught the virus, her father also got sick. He later died. Her mother, Danielle, is worried that Brooklyn could also get very sick the next time she catches the virus.

Chiles said she wonders if her daughter is going to die, too. "Is this the moment where I lose everyone?" she asked.

The COVID-19 pandemic started in late 2019. It is linked to more than 6 million deaths around the world. But its effects on children are not well known.

Over 12 million children in the U.S. are estimated⁴ to have tested positive for the virus. However, the virus does not seem to be as dangerous for children as it is for older adults.

Some people call what happens to children "bizarre⁵." Some children suffer from what is known as "long COVID." Others get re-infected, like Brooklynn. Some even seem to get sick and then recover, only to have severe organ inflammation later on.

At Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C., Brooklynn and other children are subjects of a study. Doctors at the hospital are getting money from the National Institutes of Health to study the long-term effects of COVID-19 on children.

The hospital has about 200 children up to age 21 in the study, which will go on for three years. They undergo⁶ many tests on their first visit to the hospital. Doctors take blood, listen to their heart and check their lungs.

Roberta DeBiasi is the doctor leading the study. She said the researchers are trying to understand the problems children suffer after getting COVID, and how common they are.

Another girl in the study is Alyssa Carpenter. She is three years old. She had COVID-19 two times and also has unusual symptoms, such as high fevers and foot pain. Sometimes she lies down and points to her chest and says she has pain there, too.

Alyssa's parents, Tara and Tyson Carpenter, have two other daughters. They said the pandemic caused a lot of problems in their lives. But they are most worried about Alyssa whom they do not know how to help.

Tara Carpenter called the situation "super frustrating⁷." She said she has been looking for answers to her daughter's problems, but no one is able to provide them.

Some days, the little girl is doing just fine. Other days, she has a fever or pain. But lately, the family says she is doing a little better.

One doctor working on the study is Linda Herbert. She does a psychological⁸ test. She talks to the children about things like the quality of their sleep, the worries they have, how they get along with other children and whether they have trouble remembering things.

She said there are many symptoms, adding that many children are worried about getting sick again.

Herbert said psychological symptoms are just as common as physical symptoms, like pain. And it is not just the children who have a lot of worries. The parents, brothers and sisters of the children have stress and anxiety, too.

Brooklynn's mother, Danielle, is working hard to keep her emotions from affecting her daughter. She is working to support her family now that her husband died. She also is dealing⁹ with her sadness and trying not to show her feelings to her daughter.

She wanted to put Brooklynn in the study so more people would learn about the need for vaccines¹⁰, especially among Black people. Her husband Rodney was not vaccinated. He suffered from pre-existing conditions and died at the age of 42.

Chiles said one of the last things her husband said before he died was "forgive me."

She said it is true that many children are not getting sick if they catch the virus. However, "they are losing," she said.

"They're losing parents, social lives...years." Chiles said: "Yes, kids are resilient, but they can't go on like this. No one is this resilient."

Words in This Story

test positive – v. show the presence¹¹ of a germ¹², virus or condition through a medical test

moment – n. a certain point in time

bizarre– adj. very unusual or strange

inflammation – n. a condition in which a part of your body becomes red, swollen¹³, and painful

symptom – n. a change in the body or mind which indicates that a disease is present

fever – n. a body temperature that is higher than normal

frustrate¹⁴ – v. to cause someone to feel angry or upset because they cannot do what they want to do

stress – n. a state of mental tension¹⁵ involving worry

anxiety – n. fear or nervousness about what might happen

resilient – n. able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens

1 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

2 vaccinated   

[医]已接种的，种痘的，接种过疫菌的

参考例句：

• I was vaccinated against tetanus. 我接种了破伤风疫苗。
• Were you vaccinated against smallpox as a child? 你小时候打过天花疫苗吗？

3 disease   

n.疾病，弊端

参考例句：

• The doctors are trying to stamp out the disease.医生正在尽力消灭这种疾病。
• He fought against the disease for a long time.他同疾病做了长时间的斗争。

4 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

5 bizarre   

adj.奇形怪状的，怪诞的

参考例句：

• They saw a bizarre animal in the lake.他们在湖中看见一个奇怪的动物。
• The building was of bizarre construction.这建筑构造奇异。

6 undergo   

vt.经历，经受，忍受

参考例句：

• The planes have to undergo rigorous safety checks.飞机必须经过严密的安全检查。
• The explorers had to undergo much suffering.探险者不得不忍受很多困苦。

7 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 psychological   

adj.心理的，精神上的

参考例句：

• Work also provides psychological well-being.工作还能使人身心健康。
• The psychological advantage of direct control is impressive.直接控制所收到的心理效果很大。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 vaccines   

疫苗，痘苗( vaccine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His team are at the forefront of scientific research into vaccines. 他的小组处于疫苗科研的最前沿。
• The vaccines were kept cool in refrigerators. 疫苗放在冰箱中冷藏。

11 presence   

n.出席；到场；存在

参考例句：

• Her presence lent an air of respectability to the occasion.她的到场使那种场合增添了崇高的气氛。
• His presence is indicative of his willingness to help.他的出席表示他愿意帮忙。

12 germ   

n.细菌，病菌，微生物；(想法等的)起源

参考例句：

• I have the germ of an idea.我有一个初步的想法。
• This was the germ of a book.这是一本书的源起。

13 swollen   

adj.肿大的，水涨的；v.使变大，肿胀

参考例句：

• Her legs had got swollen from standing up all day.因为整天站着，她的双腿已经肿了。
• A mosquito had bitten her and her arm had swollen up.蚊子叮了她，她的手臂肿起来了。

14 frustrate   

v.使失望；使沮丧；使厌烦

参考例句：

• But this didn't frustrate Einstein.He was content to go as far as he could.但这并没有使爱因斯坦灰心，他对能够更深入地研究而感到满意。
• They made their preparations to frustrate the conspiracy.他们作好准备挫败这个阴谋。

15 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。