Children, along with elderly people and those with chronic illnesses, are now among the most vulnerable groups amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Health Ministry says elderly and unvaccinated people constitute the majority of COVID-19 patients but cases among children are also climbing according to experts. The fact that the omicron variant share similar symptoms with influenza, also on the rise, poses challenges for health care workers.

Professor Ergin Çiftçi, who heads the Department of Children’s Infectious Diseases at the faculty of Medicine at Ankara University, said they are seeing more and more children infected with the omicron variant and hospitalized. Çiftçi, however, reassuringly stated that many hospitalized children already have other chronic illnesses, whereas most children recover after mild symptoms.

Still, omicron is not something to downplay for Turkey, especially after the number of cases broke new records this month and still fluctuates around 70,000 daily.

"It was only recently that our COVID-19 ward here at the hospital was emptied after patients recovered, but with omicron, we see a surge in patients, especially children," Çiftçi told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday.

"Children have milder cases usually but for those with liver, heart, kidney, bone marrow transplant, those with immunity problems and chronic heart diseases mostly require hospitalization," Çiftçi said, although he added that the cases were still milder compared to the delta variant. Though it is rare, children are occasionally subjected to the multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) after they recover from COVID-19.

Çiftçi warned about the syndrome's symptoms, like skin rash and bloodshot eyes. "If not treated in time, MIS-C can be fatal," he warned, urging families to monitor their children against those symptoms within one month of recovery or later.

He also called upon parents to have their children at the age of 12 and above vaccinated in time and keep them away from crowded environments, especially during the midterm break, which will start on Friday. He noted that some countries started administering vaccines to children below the age of 12 and Turkey should pursue the same approach. Currently, only children between the ages of 12 and 15 are eligible for vaccines if they have chronic diseases.

Professor Recep Tekin, an infectious diseases expert from Dicle University, said omicron shares symptoms with influenza and parents should be cautious if their children are suffering from fatigue, fever and similar symptoms. "They should bear in mind that, along with influenza, this could also be the onset of a COVID-19 infection," he warned. "They can at least have their children tested for coronavirus," he told AA.

Associate Professor Ümit Savaşçı, an infectious diseases expert, said influenza cases exceeded omicron cases in some provinces, raising concerns of a "boom" in influenza after almost "zero cases" in 2021. "Influenza disappeared because people heeded the personal protection measures (against COVID-19), including wearing protective masks, hygiene and social distancing. But this year, we see a comeback in influenza cases," he told Demirören News Agency (DHA).

Savaşçı warned that the children were more exposed to influenza, especially due to weakened immunity, a "result of being confined at home" in the early days of the pandemic when the restrictions were widespread. "They are back at schools and once infected there, they infect other family members. We also see fewer ventilation measures in an enclosed environment as the temperatures have dropped. Coupled with negligence on other protection measures, this exponentially increases influenza cases," he said.