In Children, COVID Is ‘Certainly Very Mild’ Compared to Flu and Other Viruses, Halifax Doctor Says

The playground at Shannon Park Elementary School in Dartmouth, N.S., sits empty on Jan. 5, 2022. Students in Nova Scotia switched to online learning starting Jan. 10, set to last until Jan. 17. The Canadian Press/Andrew Vaughan

The flu and other common viruses pose more of a risk to children to date than COVID-19, says the chief of pediatrics at the IWK Health Centre in Halifax, noting that few children have been admitted to hospital due to the coronavirus.

Dr. Andrew Lynk told CBC News that he remains far more concerned about the flu and other common viruses in children compared to COVID-19, even with the more transmissible Omicron variant now spreading in Nova Scotia.