Anyone can get coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), including children. Find out about the symptoms, testing and medical issues linked to COVID-19 in children. And learn how to help prevent COVID-19, especially in children at high risk of serious illness.
How likely is it for a child to become sick with COVID-19?
While children are as likely as adults to catch the virus that causes COVID-19, kids are less likely to become seriously ill. But some children with COVID-19 need to be hospitalized, treated in the intensive care unit or placed on a machine to help them breathe, called a ventilator. Very rarely, COVID-19 can cause death.
Some health issues might raise a child's risk of serious illness with COVID-19, such as:
- Having more than one chronic disease, including diseases of the heart, lungs or nervous system.
- Not being up to date with COVID-19 vaccination.
- Having a weakened immune system.
- Being born before the due date, called prematurity.
- Having obesity.
- Having type 1 or type 2 diabetes.
This is not a complete list. Other health issues, such as sickle cell disease, may be linked to more-serious COVID-19.
Having more than one risk factor raises the chance of serious COVID-19. Age younger than 1 year or older than 12 also raises the risk. And if a medical condition isn't well managed, that can raise the risk of serious COVID-19.
A COVID-19 vaccine helps prevent children from becoming seriously ill, having to stay in the hospital or dying of COVID-19.
How are babies affected by COVID-19?
Babies under age 1 might be at higher risk of serious illness with COVID-19 than are older children. This may be mostly because this group includes babies born prematurely, and they have the highest risk.
In general, you can't spread the virus that causes COVID-19 to your unborn baby, also called a fetus, during pregnancy. Infants typically get COVID-19 from a sick caregiver after delivery.
You can help lower your infant's risk by getting the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy. Some evidence suggests that the protection can pass to the unborn baby and continue after birth.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19 in children?
Children with COVID-19 may have serious or mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Symptoms may show up 2 to 14 days after contact with the COVID-19 virus.
The most common symptoms are fever and a cough, including a barking cough linked to croup. For many children, symptoms are like those of other lung and breathing illnesses, called respiratory illnesses.
Symptoms of COVID-19 in children may include:
- Sore throat.
- Stuffy or runny nose.
- Headache.
- Feeling very tired, known as fatigue.
- Nausea, vomiting or loose stools, also called diarrhea.
- Chills.
- Muscle aches and pains.
Testing can help figure out whether the COVID-19 virus is the cause. COVID-19 symptoms also may include trouble breathing, shortness of breath, and new loss of taste or smell.
Breathing trouble
Get emergency help right away if your child is working hard to breathe. Symptoms of breathing trouble include grunting, flaring of the nostrils, or the chest pulling in around the collarbone and ribs with each breath.
Other symptoms of trouble breathing are shortness of breath at rest; rapid breathing; and wheezy, noisy or raspy breathing. In babies, this may show as not being able to cry or feed.
Get emergency help for other symptoms of serious illness in children, such as:
- Temperature lower than 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.5 degrees Celsius) or higher than 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) in a child younger than 3 months.
- Drooling, trouble swallowing, or not being able to swallow or open the mouth fully.
- Lips or nail beds that look gray or blue, or skin that looks different.
- New confusion.
- Trouble staying awake or waking up.
- Chest pain or pressure that is constant.
- Vomiting or diarrhea that doesn't stop.
- Dehydration, which for babies younger than 3 months means fewer than three wet diapers in 24 hours.
This list doesn't include every emergency symptom. If the child you're taking care of has symptoms that worry you, get help. Let the healthcare team know about a positive test for COVID-19 or symptoms of the illness.
Testing for COVID-19
Testing for COVID-19 can help you quickly figure out if the COVID-19 virus is the cause of your child's illness. Testing helps you act quickly to prevent serious illness in kids who are at higher than average risk. It also helps protect others who may be at high risk.
Test for COVID-19 if you know you or your child was exposed to the COVID-19 virus or if you have symptoms. Testing during times when many people in your area have COVID-19 can help stop the spread of the virus that causes the illness.
Supporting your child during COVID-19 nasal swab testing
The purpose of this video is to prepare children for a COVID-19 nasal swab test, to help ease any worry they may have. When children are prepared to take a medical test, they may feel more comfortable and prepared, which creates a positive coping experience for them. This video has been made for children as young as 4 years.
What is multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children
Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a serious condition linked to infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
With MIS-C, children have fever, blood markers of inflammation and serious disease throughout the body. Organs such as the brain, eyes, heart, lungs, kidneys, digestive system and skin may become inflamed. MIS-C symptoms are treated in the hospital as the illness runs its course.
MIS-C is rare. Symptoms usually show up within two months after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19.
Symptoms of MIS-C include a fever that doesn't go away, along with other symptoms:
- Belly pain, vomiting or diarrhea.
- Skin rash.
- Redness in the white part of the eyes.
- Swelling of the lips, tongue, hands or feet.
Emergency warning signs of MIS-C include:
- Pain or a feeling of pressure in the chest.
- Trouble staying awake or waking up.
- Trouble breathing.
- New confusion.
- Lips or nail beds that look gray or blue.
- Terrible belly pain.
If your child shows any emergency warning signs or is severely sick with other symptoms, take your child to the nearest emergency room or call 911 or your local emergency number. If your child isn't seriously ill but shows other symptoms of MIS-C, contact your child's healthcare professional right away for advice.
Most children get better quickly and don't have any medical issues caused by MIS-C. Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination offers protection against MIS-C. And most children who have had MIS-C can get a COVID-19 vaccine on schedule.
Can children who get COVID-19 experience long-term effects?
Anyone who has had COVID-19 can develop post-COVID-19 syndrome. New symptoms or conditions that develop after infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 are more often linked to serious COVID-19 illness.
Symptoms that linger often include a high level of tiredness that affects day-to-day life. And some symptoms may get worse after certain activities.
Symptoms of long COVID may relate to:
- Trouble breathing.
- Trouble with thinking.
- Fast heartbeat.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Digestive issues.
- Pain in the joints or muscles.
Staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccines offers protection against post-COVID-19 syndrome.
What COVID-19 vaccines are available to kids in the U.S.?
The 2025-2026 COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States include shots from Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech and Novavax. Each vaccine is approved for children based on age and health.
Moderna COVID-19 vaccine 2025-2026 formulas.
- Spikevax. This vaccine is approved for children age 6 months and older who have a risk of serious COVID-19 illness.
- Mnexspike. This vaccine is approved for children age 12 years and older who have a risk of serious COVID-19 illness.
Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine 2025-2026 formula.
- Comirnaty. This vaccine is approved for children age 5 years and older who have a risk of serious COVID-19 illness.
Novavax COVID-19 vaccine 2025-2026 formula.
- Nuvaxovid. This vaccine is approved for children age 12 years and older who have a risk of serious COVID-19 illness.
The vaccine protects against serious illness, the need for hospital care due to COVID-19 and dying of COVID-19. Serious side effects from the COVID-19 vaccine are extremely rare. Because of that, even people without any health issues benefit from the COVID-19 vaccine, which lowers the risk of serious illness at a rate similar to that of the flu vaccine.
Children ages 6 to 23 months are up to date after two doses of Spikevax spaced at least four weeks apart. But the number of vaccine doses depends on a few factors. The vaccine type matters, as well as whether a child has been vaccinated before and whether a child has a weakened immune system.
What can I do to prevent my child from getting COVID-19?
There are many steps you can take to prevent your child from getting the COVID-19 virus and spreading it to others.
- Get vaccinated. If the timing works out, a COVID-19 vaccine can be given to eligible children on the same day as other vaccines.
- Keep hands clean. Encourage frequent hand-washing with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Teach children to keep washing their hands until they have sung the entire "Happy Birthday" song twice, which takes about 20 seconds. Or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Have children cough or sneeze into their elbows or a tissue. Remind children to avoid touching the eyes, nose and mouth.
- Clean and disinfect your home. Regularly clean high-touch surfaces and objects and clean them after you have visitors in your home. Also, regularly clean areas that easily get dirty, such as a baby's changing table, and surfaces and items that your child often touches.
- Get the air flowing. Use fans, open windows or doors, and use filters to keep air and germs moving out of your indoor space.
- Keep some distance. If possible, avoid close contact with anyone who is sick or has symptoms. Spread out in crowded indoor places, especially in places with poor airflow.
- Wear face masks. If you are in an area with a high number of people in the hospital with COVID-19, wear a well-fitted mask indoors in public. Don't place a face mask on a child younger than age 2 or a child with a disability who can't safely wear a mask.
Keep up with well-child visits and your child's other vaccines. COVID-19 is just one of many illnesses that can be prevented with vaccination. Vaccines for children are timed carefully. Vaccines are given when protection inherited from the mother fades. They're given when the child's immune system is ready but before the child is likely to come in contact with germs that cause infections.
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