Unsettling new research suggests children could be spreading the novel coronavirus COVID-19 as much as adults do.
That's because young children with COVID-19 may have the same or higher amounts of virus in their upper respiratory tracts as older children and adults.
The upper respiratory tract includes the nose and nasal passages, sinuses, pharynx and the portion of the larynx above the vocal cords.
It is reasonable to hypothesize based on our findings that children could spread the virus as efficiently as adults.
Dr. Taylor Heald-Sargent, study co-author According to UPI, research to date has suggested children play a limited role in spreading the new coronavirus.
