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A28 u.s. news
Diamars 15 maart 2022

For kids with COVID-19, everyday life can be a struggle

(AP) — Eight-year-old demic has been a nightmare
Brooklynn Chiles fidgets of missed school, unproduc-
on the hospital bed as she tive work, restrictions and
waits for the nurse at Chil- confusion. But on top of all
dren’s National Hospital. the anxiety so many parents
The white paper beneath feel lies the concern for their
her crinkles as she shifts toddler. They don’t know
to look at the medical ob- how to help her.
jects in the room. She’s
had the coronavirus three “It was just super frustrat-
times, and no one can fig- ing,” says Tara Carpenter,
ure out why. who is quick to add that no
one’s to blame. “We’re trying
Brooklynn’s lucky, sort of. to find out answers for our
Each time she has tested kid and nobody could give
positive, she has suffered no us any. And it just was really
obvious symptoms. But her frustrating.”
dad, Rodney, caught the virus
when she was positive back Alyssa would wail in pain
in September, and he died from her red burning feet or
from it. whimper quietly. She’d come
down with a fever, but suf-
Her mom, Danielle, is dread- fer no other symptoms and
ing a next bout, fearing her be sent home from school
daughter could become for days, ruining Carpenter’s
gravely ill even though she’s long after the virus is gone, and other unusual symptoms. work week. But then in bal-
been vaccinated. what’s often called long CO- Children’s has about 200 kids Alyssa was just 2 years old let class, with her pink tights
VID. Others get reinfected. up to age 21 enrolled in the when she started the study and tutu, she’d seem totally
“Every time, I think: Am I Some seem to recover fine, study for three years, and it and has since turned 3. Her normal.
going to go through this with only to be struck later by a takes on about two new pa- feet sometimes turn bright
her, too?” she said, sitting on mysterious condition that tients each week. The study red and sting with pain. Or In the past few months,
a plastic chair wedged in the causes severe organ inflam- involves children who have she’ll lie down and point her symptoms have started to
corner. “Is this the moment mation. tested positive and those who little fingers to her chest and subside and it’s giving the
where I lose everyone?” have not, such as siblings of say, “It hurts.” family some relief.
And all that can come on top sick kids. The subjects range
Among the puzzling out- of grieving for loved ones from having no symptoms Her parents, Tara and Tyson “After the fact, what do we do
comes of the coronavirus, killed by the virus and other to requiring life support in Carpenter, have two other about this?” asks Tara Car-
which has killed more than interruptions to a normal intensive care. On their first daughters, 5-year-old Audrey penter. “We don’t know. We
6 million people worldwide childhood. visit, participants get a full and 9-year-old Hailey, who is literally don’t know.”
since it first emerged in 2019, day of testing, including an on the autism spectrum. As
are the symptoms suffered by Doctors at Children’s Na- ultrasound of their heart, for many parents, the pan-
children. tional and multiple other blood work and lung func-
hospitals getting money from tion testing.
More than 12.7 million the National Institutes of
children in the U.S. alone Health are studying the long- Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, who
have tested positive for CO- term effects of COVID-19 runs the study, said its main
VID-19 since the pandem- on children. purpose is to define the
ic began, according to the myriad complications that
American Academy of Pe- The ultimate goal is to evalu- children might get after CO-
diatrics. Generally, the virus ate the impact on children’s VID-19 and how common
doesn’t hit kids as severely as overall health and develop- those complications are.
adults. ment, both physically and
mentally — and tease out Brooklynn is one study sub-
But, as with some adults, how their still-developing ject. So is Alyssa Carpenter,
there are still bizarre out- immune systems respond to who has had COVID-19
comes. Some youngsters suf- the virus to learn why some twice and gets strange fevers
fer unexplained symptoms fare well and others don’t. that break out unexpectedly,

Lawmakers to vote on fix to increase UC Berkeley enrollment

(AP) — California law- universities more time and it was being forced to reject
makers on Monday were flexibility to comply with re- 5,000 applicants this spring
fast-tracking a propos- quired state environmental so UC Berkeley could en-
al that could allow the reviews before judges can re- rollment by 3,000 students
University of California, sort to imposing caps on stu- to comply with an Alameda
Berkeley, to admit as many dent enrollment. County judge’s ruling freez-
students as it had planned ing student enrollment at
to for the fall semester — The bill is retroactive, mean- 2020-21 levels. The univer-
despite a court-ordered ing that if Gov. Gavin New- sity has since lowered the
cap on enrollment stem- som signs it, all court deci- figure of applicants it plans to
ming from a dispute with sions affecting enrollment reject who would have been
neighbors who sued UC — including the cap on UC accepted to about 2,600.
Berkeley over its growth. Berkeley’s new freshmen —
would be unenforceable. The California Supreme
The state Senate and Assem- Court declined to block the
bly were scheduled to vote The prestigious public uni- lower court’s ruling in a deci-
on legislation giving public versity announced last month sion earlier this month.