Very few UK children with kidney disease have been admitted to hospital with Covid-19. Most infected children have only been mildly affected.
We know that children and young people with Covid-19 tend to do better than adults in terms of length of illness and severity of symptoms. Most children who have contracted the virus have been completely asymptomatic (had no symptoms at all). Like other similar winter viruses however, there have been cases of children requiring higher levels of care with Covid-19.
Kidney doctors looking after children now tend to consider only a very small group of children with kidney disease to be at high risk. This would generally be children in the first three months post-transplant or those on high-dose steroid therapy (daily) together with another potent immunosuppressive agent such as MMF, for example.
If you have any individual questions, you should contact your hospital kidney team.
Can children with kidney disease go to school?
Most children who were previously judged to be clinically extremely vulnerable are advised to attend school, while practising regular hand washing. There may be very few exceptions to this for a small number of children who are still advised to shield.
Please refer to the Covid-19 guidance from the British Association for Paediatric Nephrology for more detailed advice and discuss any specific questions with your hospital team.
Brothers and sisters of children with kidney disease should go back to school or college.
Additional guidance about Covid-19 for families
The Royal College for Paediatric and Child Health has produced lots of useful advice for families in all four UK countries during the pandemic, and how and when to seek advice on what to do if your child becomes unwell during the Covid-19 outbreak.