Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39856228›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2025

Pediatric COVID-19 severity by SARS-CoV-2 lineage and vaccine status in Canada: an IMPACT study.

Daniel S Farrar, Julie A Bettinger, Aaron J Campigotto, Shelley L Deeks, Olivier Drouin, Joanne E Embree, Elie Haddad, Scott A Halperin, Tajdin Jadavji, Kescha Kazmi and 11 more

Abstract read
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

21 authors.

Daniel S FarrarCentre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Julie A BettingerVaccine Evaluation Center, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Aaron J CampigottoDivision of Microbiology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Shelley L DeeksDepartment of Health and Wellness, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Olivier DrouinDivision of General Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Joanne E EmbreeDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, Canada.
Elie HaddadDepartment of Pediatrics and Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases, Centre de Recherche Azrieli du CHU Sainte-Justine, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Scott A HalperinCanadian Center for Vaccinology, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Tajdin JadavjiDepartment of Pediatrics, Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Kescha KazmiDivision of Infectious Diseases, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Melanie KingCanadian Paediatric Surveillance Program, Canadian Paediatric Society, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Charlotte Moore HepburnDivision of Paediatric Medicine, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jesse PapenburgDivision of Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Montreal Children's Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Rupeena PurewalDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Manish SadaranganiVaccine Evaluation Center, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Laura SauvéVaccine Evaluation Center, BC Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Rae S M YeungDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Karina A Top *Canadian Center for Vaccinology, Dalhousie University and IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Fatima Kakkar *Division of Infectious Diseases, CHU Sainte-Justine, Montreal, QC, Canada. fatima.kakkar@umontreal.ca.
Shaun K Morris *Centre for Global Child Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. shaun.morris@sickkids.ca.
Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, Active (IMPACT) Investigators

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInterpretations of pediatric COVID-19 severity are complicated by novel lineages and COVID-19 vaccine introduction. We estimated the risk of severe COVID-19 by SARS-CoV-2 lineage and vaccination status among hospitalized Canadian children.

methodsData were collected through the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (April 2020-May 2021) and Canadian Immunization Monitoring Program, ACTive (June 2021-December 2022). Patients <17 years hospitalized for COVID-19 (excluding incidental SARS-CoV-2) at 13 pediatric hospitals were included. Lineages were defined via genetic sequencing or dominant lineage upon hospitalization. Severe disease included intensive care, ventilatory/hemodynamic requirements, systemic complications, and/or death.

resultsWe analyzed 3218 COVID-19 hospitalizations, including 81.4% admitted during Omicron predominance. Median age was highest among Delta cases (2.9 years, interquartile range [IQR] 0.2-10.9) and lowest among Omicron BQ.1 cases (0.6 years, IQR 0.2-1.8). Severe COVID-19 remained common in Omicron vs. ancestral cases (27.2% vs. 23.2%). The proportion of hospitalized cases aged 5-16 years declined following the introduction of age-specific COVID-19 vaccines. Vaccination reduced the risk of in-hospital severe disease for ages 12-16 years (two vs. zero doses; adjusted risk ratio 0.49, 95% confidence interval 0.32-0.77).

conclusionMore children were hospitalized with Omicron lineages than all prior lineages. COVID-19 vaccination was associated with a lower burden of severe disease among ages 5-16 years. IMPACT STATEMENT: This study estimates the effect of SARS-CoV-2 lineage, Omicron sub-lineage, and vaccination on COVID-19 disease severity, using data from two Canadian national surveillance programs. Few national studies describe the clinical presentation and severity of Omicron sub-lineages among hospitalized children. In Canada, Omicron lineages were associated with substantially more pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations than all prior lineages combined, though risk of severe COVID-19 was highest during the Delta period. COVID-19 vaccines were associated with reductions in hospitalization (ages 5-16 years) and severe disease (ages 12-16 years) across Omicron sub-lineages.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesSARS-CoV-2AdolescentCanadaChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHospitalizationHumansInfantMaleSeverity of Illness IndexVaccinationCOVID-19 Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID39856228

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.