Why Kids Are Often Spared From Severe COVID-19, Reveals Study2Photo© hindustantimes.com

Why Kids Are Often Spared From Severe COVID-19, Reveals Study

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Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2s, called ACE2, are the doors that allow SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19, to enter the body’s cells. Children naturally have less ACE2 in the lungs than adults, the study said.

“ACE2 are important for viral entry and there seems to be less of them in children because they increase with age,” said study senior author Matthew Harting from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) in the US.

In addition to fewer ACE2 receptors, the authors noted the immune system in children responds to viruses differently than that of adults, leaving less opportunity for severe illness in pediatric patients.