Hello 

If you are new, welcome! If you have been with us for a while, thank you for your continued support. Since the Autumn we have been raising awareness amongst parents, caregivers, children & schools to provide evidence-based knowledge that supports informed decision-making.

Our motivation is simple; we bring together new & relevant information because we don't want to welcome more children to our group.

How can you get involved this week?

• Share a social media post.
• Invite us to talk to your school.
• Donate to #LCKAirCare & help us fund CO2 Monitors in school.
• Share your Long Covid Kids story.
• Gift us your skills/time.
• Raise awareness 

With your support, our joint efforts make a difference. 

LCK Team 💚🧡💚

Our Sunday Newsletter and Awareness Pack

Our Awareness Pack is an ongoing task, with significant updates planned in the coming week. It remains downloadable for everyone. 

LCK welcomes constructive feedback, please let us know if you have any ideas. Just email the team info@longcovidkids.org.

Between us, we can ensure that children are counted and that their LIVED infection EXPERIENCES are heard.

America Guides Care Givers

The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the national public health agency of the United States.

The CDC has publicised for many months that common COVID symptoms in children go beyond the high temperature, new continuous cough or loss/change to smell or taste publicised by the UK Government and NHS.

We have been calling for the UK Government & the NHS to update their websites since the Autumn.

7 months ago The Guardian publicised that the Zoe Covid Symptom Study researchers stated COVID-19 often presents differently in children

Read here

On August 18th 2020 these researchers announced that the

Department of Health had given them a £2 million grant.

COVID symptoms that children commonly display have not yet been

officially publicised by UK Government or the Department of Education

Read here

Research studies from around the world confirm that children with COVID are commonly Atypical or Asymptomatic, so why is this not being made more clear?

 Our own Rapid Research Study also showed that children who did not take a test to confirm COVID (due to barriers to testing a child) reported similar initial symptoms to those who did test positive, before going on to develop Long Covid.

Read here and yet these same children are often misdiagnosed and refused access to support services. 

This is of interest as many professionals are quick to minimise Long Covid symptoms as 'due to the lockdown'.Gaslighting families leaves them unsupported & children without care. It needs to stop.

The pandemic is GLOBAL.

We can look to the USA for clearer public messaging.

LCK A4 Poster - COVID and Long Covid symptoms in children (in the pack)

CDC Household Risk Checklist

CDC Back to In Person Learning Checklist

CDC COVID Symptoms In Children and Adolescents

Remember - The CDC links should be viewed with the following in mind

Children under 11 are not required to wear masks in the UK

Parents in the USA have the option to temporarily home educate their child

"The risk of severe consequences from long COVID are very significant to young people" Health Secretary, Matt Hancock

Watch Here on BBC Radio 4 - Twitter 

Co-Founder Francis speaks on DW News for a COVID-19 special

"How Long COVID affects kids"

DW News is a global English-language news and information program from German public international broadcaster Deutsche Welle

Watch here

UK School Installs CO2 Monitors

in all Classrooms

At LCK we believe that schools should be open and stay open,

but not at the cost of long-term health.

Children need fresh air.

CO2 monitoring is a scientifically evaluated layer of protection.

Ensuring that our children are breathing fresh air by installing CO2 monitors is an EASY WIN!

The transmission of the virus through contaminated surfaces is

now thought to be "minimal"

SKY NEWS 15th APRIL

The ventilation section of our Awareness Pack includes this recent research and year 2021 research on airborne transmission. It also includes scientific evidence to ensure indoor spaces are made safer.

Be knowledgable from a grassroots level

Independent Scientific Advocacy Group (ISAG)

RECENT RESEARCH

Research on the effect of COVID infection in children has been severely delayed in the UK due to the narrative that "children arent really affected".

UK

50% of Children with Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally associated with Sars-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) have 'neurological symptoms'.

Read HERE

ITALY

Danilo Buonsenso has released his third research study on Long Covid in Children. His first is being cited around the world as a solid foundation of early findings. Danilo worked with us on our first research paper and is involved in our second.

UK

Non-hospitalised children and young people with Long Covid

The CLoCk Study 

Preliminary results are due in 3 months.

We are disappointed that the study does not include children under 11 & have raised questions regarding how the 'control group' is determined as not having had COVID infection when so many children are untested/ were asymptomatic /atypical. We have not yet had a response.

NEWS ON SCHOOLS

Department of Education Pilot Test To Begin

We have been advised that the Use of the widely criticised Lateral Flow Tests will take the place of the current isolation system in 200 schools.

We are gravely concerned about this & await further details.

There's been an *8-fold* increase in positivity in Scotland among children since schools opened on the 22nd Feb.

Children now playing 'huge role' in spread of COVID-19 variant, expert says

REACT study: Primary school children have the highest COVID infection level

Young children have the highest positivity rates in England and Scotland with rises having occurred soon after school re-opening.

READ ABOUT IT HERE

LONG COVID KIDS

We received a number of communications about the social media post about this child's sad case. Including a number that aggressive and accusatory posts that suggested, amongst others,  'self-harming' as a cause.

This is the 2nd child we have seen with similar symptoms.

Their accounts were very similar.

People's reactions were very similar.

BE MORE CURIOUS & LESS UNKIND

The first child was admitted to the hospital, put under surveillance due to similar concerns of self-harm, she was watched 24/7 for 3 days while in extreme pain.

Once medical staff witnessed the lesions developing by themselves, they took a deeper interest & provided treatment.

When they swabbed the areas they found particles consistent with COVID & treated her with monoclonal antibodies (MABs) a type of immunotherapy.

The family has just reported that the rash and pain subsided for about 4 weeks. However, sadly the child now has early signs that the rash is returning.

We will update on social media when we know more. 

We will continue to report the symptoms and causes families to share with us in the hope it helps gain understanding, & raise awareness of this new condition....or at least prompt a deeper curiosity.

LCK runs on goodwill.

Donations of time, skills, fund all gratefully received.