Hello 

Thank you for your continued interest and support.

This is your Sunday update. 

Overview of what's new this week.

Meetings

• NHS meeting to discuss forthcoming paediatric HUBS. We highlighted the need for GP training on Long Covid in children. Webinars are due to fill this gap soon.
• Raising awareness of Covid in children: two meetings with documentary makers; BBC Radio Solent (Sammie), BBC South (Hannah), interviews in Germany and Ireland (Fran), and via social media. 
• Sammie and Nathalie attended the Round Table Ministerial Meeting on Long Covid chaired by Lord Bethnal, Health Minister at the UK Department of Health and Social Care. There is a new study on children and Long Covid commencing shortly. Sadly results are due in three months and will not be representative of Long Covid in children under 11 years old children. This is disappointing when the mean age from both sets of our research is 10 years.

Research

• Discussion with two research groups regarding research needs for children with Covid.
• ONS remains committed to improving its data collection and reporting in children. This week they announced 1.1 million adults living with Long Covid. Their review included a 12-week figure, in addition to their 5 week figure for children that we will report on.
• A new study has been published on Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome It highlights the need to keep community transmission low.
• We have had further discussions with our growing international research team on our second study.

Protecting Children in The Pandemic

• Ventilation and monitoring articles have exploded in the past week. See our pack.
• UK Junior school fits CO2 monitors after being made aware by Long Covid Kids.
• We have set up a fundraiser for C02 monitors for schools. More details next week
• We are talking to children with and without Long Covid for their views on masks.
• We have had further contact with MPs.

Other

• 6900 Twitter followers, 2.2 million impressions
• 2250 children have joined our support group
• 190 000 reach on Facebook
• We continue to answer messages from around the world. Our website reach is up 60% since it was translated into other languages.
• Finally, Long Covid isn't going away and neither are we. We are working on setting up our very own LCK charity and have secured the backing of a much-loved writer.

Until we have answers, assessments, treatments, and the same protection for our children that is afforded to adults, we have Long Covid Kids.

If you have any questions please do reach out to our team who will be pleased to assist.

LCK Team 💚

Office For National Statistics Estimates For Long Covid in Children

UK School installs CO2 Monitors

in all classrooms

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

but not at all costs. 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! 

A call to action for all parents and carers, please download our support pack and distribute it WIDELY. It is packed with useful resources.

A focus on what WE CAN DO to prevent COVID infection in children.

Masks

The only way to protect our children from COVID harm is to prevent them getting COVID in the first place.

LCK believe that children should not be discriminated against.

Children deserve to be and MUST be entitled to the same safety and mitigatory measures as deemed necessary in the rest of society.

COVID is airborne

Where children are unable to breathe fresh air (objectively measured) LCK agree with the countries listed in our awareness pack:

Masks have their place

Children have stepped up brilliantly. Share #LCKMaskHero

THINK LONG COVID 

There has never been a campaign to raise awareness of Covid in children. Because the statistics are comparatively lower than in adults,

the thousands and thousands of children affected have been

minimised to the point of being ignored.

The narrative that children are rarely affected by Covid quickly stuck along with the mantra "schools are safe". This has been damaging.

Research has been slow. 

 Long Covid Kids acknowledges each and every child infected #MoreThanACough. Not all families will know that their children had COVID-19 as at initial infection many children are asymptomatic or atypical and this research has not filtered down to parents/carers and schools.

It must be remembered that regardless of the severity of initial COVID-19 infection, children can experience

Long Covid and Paediatric Inflammatory Multi-System Syndrome (PIMs)

NEWS ON SCHOOLS

French schools and universities are shut.

23 - 25th March 2021

English School Attendance overall reduces again sitting now at 90%

SEN Schools (82%) Secondary Schools (87%).

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

READ ABOUT IT HERE

As usual children's Covid hospital admissions track infection levels. These admissions have yet to fall to August levels.

We are curious as to the outcome for these children.

Where can we find this information?

Sneak Peak, More Next Week!

Whatever you donate, we will use 100% to fund monitors for schools. We will be announcing this campaign publicly on Zero Covid Day, 10th April.

Please help us get it off to a good start by donating whatever you can afford.

Quality monitors cost £90, Buying them in units of 10 attracts a discount. 

We are self-funded and run by volunteers.

Donations of time & skills gratefully received.