What are the Odds That Teenagers Contract COVID-19?

The results also showed up something unexpected, however. When index patients were categorised by age (0–9, 10–19, 20–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60–69, 70–79, and >80 years), households with older children (index patients of 10–19 years) had the highest rate of infection spread to household contacts, with 18.6 percent of household contacts later showing the infection.

By contrast, young children (index patients 0–9 years of age) seemed to confer the least amount of spread of the virus, with just 5.3 percent of household contacts contracting the infection, which is less than half of the 11.8 percent average of all age groups.

The researchers acknowledge several limitations in their study, including asymptomatic patients that may have been missed, and data shortcomings due to testing differences between households and patients. Also, the study doesn't tell us how contacts actually got infected, as household contacts might have been exposed to the virus outside their homes.

Nonetheless, it's a great reminder that children occupy very different bodies and demonstrate very different behaviours.

"I fear that there has been this sense that kids don't get infected in the same way as adults, " infectious diseases researcher Michael Osterholm.

"There will be transmission. What we have to do is accept that now and include that in our plans."

The early release findings are reported in Emerging Infectious Diseases.