Skip to main content
MCHS_Logo_2024_BLACK
  • Patient Portal
  • Pay Bill Online
  • Request an Appointment
    • Services

      Featured Services

      • Cardiology (Heart)
      • Gastroenterology & Hepatology (Digestive Care)
      • Neurosurgery
      • Obstetrics & Gynecology (OB-GYN)
      • Oncology (Cancer)
      • Orthopedics & Orthopedic Surgery (Bones)
      • Primary Care
      • Spine Care
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Urology

      View all services
    • Providers
    • Locations

      Minnesota

      • Albert Lea
      • Austin
      • Belle Plaine
      • Blooming Prairie
      • Butterfield
      • Caledonia
      • Cannon Falls
      • Fairmont
      • Faribault
      • Lake City
      • Lake Crystal
      • Mankato
      • Montgomery
      • New Prague
      • Northfield
      • Owatonna
      • Plainview
      • Red Wing
      • Rochester
      • Sherburn
      • St. James
      • St. Peter
      • Waseca
      • Waterville
      • Wells
      • Zumbrota

      Wisconsin

      • Arcadia
      • Barron
      • Bloomer
      • Chetek
      • Chippewa Falls
      • Eau Claire
      • Ellsworth
      • Glenwood City
      • Holmen
      • La Crosse
      • Menomonie
      • Mondovi
      • Onalaska
      • Osseo
      • Prairie du Chien
      • Rice Lake
      • Sparta
      • Tomah

      View map
    • Classes/Events
    • Blog
    • Wellness
    • Referrals

    Recent Posts

    • Two people working
      Speaking of Health
      Maintaining healthy relationships with age
      May 15, 2025
    • Charlie Pierce
      Patient Stories
      The sound of success: How improved hearing aids career change
      May 01, 2025
    • Produce aisle shopping
      Speaking of Health
      Want to reduce chronic inflammation? Start with your grocery list
      April 24, 2025
    Featured Topics
    • Behavioral Health
    • Cancer
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • Exercise and Fitness
    • Heart Health
    • Men's Health
    • Neurosurgery
    • Obstetrics and Gynecology
    • Orthopedic Health
    • Weight-loss (Bariatric) Surgery
    • Women's Health
    Join our email newsletter
    Featured Topic
    Thursday, January 27, 2022

    How the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting kids

    Topics in this Post
    • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Hot Topics
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • Pediatric Medicine
    • Behavioral Health
    Child resting chin on palm

    Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, a common misconception is that kids aren't affected much by COVID-19, and if they were to get sick, their symptoms would be mild. However, the pandemic is affecting children in many ways, physically and mentally.

    Nusheen Ameenuddin, M.D., a Mayo Clinic pediatrician, and Janice Schreier, a clinical therapist at Mayo Clinic Health System in La Crosse, Wisconsin, have seen firsthand the toll the pandemic has taken on children.

    Kids are getting sick

    One of the most common questions parents ask Dr. Ameenuddin is whether children really need to get vaccinated for COVID-19.

    "What I've stressed to them is that we've actually gotten a lot of good information over the past couple of years (about COVID-19's effects on children), especially the last year, that the vaccines are incredibly effective in preventing very severe side effects," says Dr. Ameenuddin.

    One particular rare and serious side effect of COVID-19 is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C. Dr. Ameenuddin says among those who have gotten multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, almost all were unvaccinated.

    "Vaccination, even if a child still gets sick, makes them much less likely to be sick enough to be hospitalized or die, which, unfortunately, has been happening."

    Mental health issues on the rise

    Even before the pandemic, mental health challenges facing kids were a big concern. Schreier says COVID-19 has only exacerbated the situation.

    "We've seen an increase in depression and anxiety, and eating disorders have increased like nothing I've seen," says Schreier.

    "Just in 2021, we saw greater than 30% increase in mental health presentations to emergency rooms. And those kids that are coming in are sicker than they used to be before the pandemic. They are having higher levels of suicidal ideation, showing more aggression with self-harm, higher rates of substance abuse and more instances of eating disorders."

    Schreier says the pillars of good mental health, such as, spending time with friends, physical activity, good sleep hygiene and maintaining a routine, have been compromised during the pandemic.

    Adverse side effects

    Some of the side effects of COVID-19 for children are ones that could affect them for years to come.

    "I think one thing that we haven't heard enough about is that over 140,000 children in the United States have lost at least one parent to COVID-19. Even if people are thinking this is something that is more of an adult disease, and it's not affecting children, many children have been orphaned," says Dr. Ameenuddin. "Not having a parent for the rest of your life is a really significant adverse event. That's why it is very much a disease that's affecting children in multiple different ways."

    By Mayo Clinic staff

    Information in this post was accurate at the time of its posting. Due to the fluid nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientific understanding, along with guidelines and recommendations, may have changed since the original publication date.

    Topics in this Post
    • COVID-19
    • COVID-19 Vaccine
    • Infectious Diseases
    • Hot Topics
    • Children's Health (Pediatrics)
    • Pediatric Medicine
    • Behavioral Health

    Related Posts

    Levi Dahling Don't delay getting your child vaccinated for COVID-19
    Child with crossed arms resting on a sofa COVID-19 symptoms to watch for in children, teens
    Mom smoothing child's hair Talking to your kids about vaccines

    Stay Connected

    • Contact Us
    • Notice of Nondiscrimination
    • Notice of Privacy Practices
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • About Us
    • Careers
    • Volunteer
    • Donate
    • For Patients & Visitors
    • Financial Assistance
    • Price Transparency
    • Community Resources
    • Mayo Clinic Connect
    • For Medical Professionals
    • Press Room
    • Mayo Clinic
    • Manage Cookie
    © 2018 - 2025 Mayo Clinic Health System