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. 2021 Jul 30;73(Suppl 2):S146-S163.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa1348.

Reconsidering Assumptions of Adolescent and Young Adult Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Transmission Dynamics

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos  1   2   3   4 , Adam Benzekri  1 , Marco Thimm-Kaiser  1   5 , Andrew Hidalgo  1 , David C Perlman  3   6
Affiliations

Reconsidering Assumptions of Adolescent and Young Adult Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Transmission Dynamics

Vincent Guilamo-Ramos et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Evidence regarding the important role of adolescents and young adults (AYA) in accelerating and sustaining coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreaks is growing. Furthermore, data suggest that 2 known factors that contribute to high severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmissibility-presymptomatic transmission and asymptomatic case presentations-may be amplified in AYA. However, AYA have not been prioritized as a key population in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Policy decisions that limit public health attention to AYA and are driven by the assumption of insignificant forward transmission from AYA pose a risk of inadvertent reinvigoration of local transmission dynamics. In this viewpoint, we highlight evidence regarding the increased potential of AYA to transmit SARS-CoV-2 that, to date, has received little attention, discuss adolescent and young adult-specific considerations for future COVID-19 control measures, and provide applied programmatic suggestions.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; SARS-CoV-2 transmission; adolescents and young adults.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Youth (aged 5–17 years) proportion of total severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 tests by youth proportion of total positive cases.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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