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Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, there have been dramatic reductions in hospital admissions for common and severe childhood infections in England, most likely due to social distancing measures, school and workplace closures, and travel restrictions, finds a study published by The BMJ today.

View of a hospital corridor

While many of these measures are unsustainable outside of the pandemic, the researchers call for further evaluation of interventions that could be continued, especially during winter months, to minimise the burden on health systems and protect vulnerable children.

Worldwide, the indirect effects of Covid-19 on children’s health appear to be substantial. For instance, childhood immunisation programmes have been disrupted and emergency department visits have been delayed, but the impact of such delays on patient outcomes is unclear.

To address this, researchers from the University of Oxford assessed hospital admission rates and mortality outcomes for 19 common childhood respiratory infections, severe invasive infections, and vaccine preventable diseases before and after the onset of the pandemic in England.

Read the full news story on the University of Oxford website