News > Scientists decode why COVID-19 spares children

Scientists decode why COVID-19 spares children

Scientists have found a key factor which may explain why the novel coronavirus predominantly affects adults and older people while seeming to spare younger children, an advance that may lead to the development of new treatment strategies for COVID-19.

According to the researchers, children have lower levels of a receptor protein that the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 needs to invade airway epithelial cells in the lungs.