The science behind why children do better with Covid-19

Children’s apparent impenetrability to Covid-19’s worst effects has been one of the pandemic’s biggest mysteries – and reliefs. Now the causes are coming into focus, scientists say: Children mobilize a first line of defense known as the innate immune system more effectively than adults.

Although some children become seriously ill after receiving Covid-19, most have mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. Unlike other respiratory viruses such as influenza or respiratory syncytial virusSARS-CoV-2 does not hit children nearly as hard as adults or the elderly.