NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Mike Osborne) -- Vanderbilt researchers believe they now know why COVID-19 rarely proves fatal among children.
The finding was published this month in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
In most patients, COVID-19 turns deadly when the virus invades the lungs. The damage done makes it difficult to breathe. Severe cases end up on a respirator. Many don’t survive.
The Vanderbilt researchers discovered that a specific enzyme allows the virus to target the lungs.
Children generally have less of that particular enzyme and so rarely become seriously ill.