To determine this, Sciensano and the KU Leuven followed for a year the presence of antibodies against the coronavirus in primary school pupils. During the 5th and final test period in December 2021, when children under 12 were not yet eligible for vaccination, 50.9% of the 432 students tested had antibodies against the coronavirus. The sample is representative of all pupils in Belgium.
There are also regional differences. In Wallonia, more pupils had developed antibodies against the coronavirus in December 2021 than children in Flanders and Brussels. And Wallonia, 58.6% of children had antibodies against 48.2% in Flanders and 47.3% in Brussels.
In a survey conducted as part of the study, 26.9% of students reported having had the COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. For 15.5% of students, the diagnosis was made between the 4th and 5th test period.
Even though half of primary school students have had the COVID-19, only one in four students report an infection that has been confirmed by a test PCR or a quick test. Many children with antibodies so don’t even know they’ve been infected speak SARS-CoV-2. As our study has shown previously, children who catch the COVID are rarely seriously ill. Also in this study, none of the participating children reported being hospitalized due to COVID.
“The results show that the Delta variant of the coronavirus caused a stronger circulation of the virus in children than the other variants. This significant circulation was also observed in the general population during the 4th wave, despite high vaccination coverage in this group. And this trend is only getting stronger with current Omicron variant”, concludes Els Duysburgh, researcher at Sciensano.