About The Study: This study of 139,000 respiratory hospitalizations in Canada of children younger than age 18 found a substantial decrease in severe respiratory disease resulting in hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and mortality during the first two years of the pandemic compared with the three pre-pandemic years. These findings suggest that future evaluations of the effect of public health interventions aimed at reducing circulating respiratory pathogens during non-pandemic periods of increased respiratory illness may be warranted.
Authors: Eyal Cohen, M.D., M.Sc., of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, is the corresponding author.
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(doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.43318)