Summary: SARS CoV-2 infection, which began at the end of 2019 in China, became a global problem in March 2020. So far about 8 million infected people in 187 countries have been diagnosed with COVID-19. The disease is especially dangerous for elderly people and patients with comorbidities. The pediatric population seems relatively resistant. Children account for about 2% of all infections, the course of the disease is rather mild or moderate, severe manifestation is rare. Deaths are reported only occasionally.
The paper focuses on the causes of COVID-19 uniqueness in children: lower activity of the receptor for coronaviruses, lower expression of inflammatory response induced by infection and responsible for multiorgan dysfunction, more effective immune response against viral infection due to previous infections. Early isolation of the pediatric population was an important preventive measure. In the course of the pandemic, increasing incidence of Kawasaki-like disease was found in a few countries, although the direct relationship with infection SARS CoV-2 is ambiguous.