On Mar. 2, 2021, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), announced that it had launched a research effort to understand how SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, affects children, who account for roughly 13% of the total cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. The effort was named the Collaboration to Assess Risk and Identify Long-term Outcomes for Children with COVID (CARING for Children with COVID).

This research program developed and funded studies to investigate why some children are at greater risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection than others, why symptoms vary among children who are infected, and how to identify children at risk for severe illness from SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Based on current data, most children with SARS-CoV-2 infection do not develop serious illness. However, those who do go on to develop MIS-C can experience prolonged fever and severe abdominal pain and may progress to shock. Although most children with MIS-C survive, its cause and long-term effects remain largely unknown. There is also early evidence that some children with asymptomatic or mild infection may go on to develop such long term symptoms as fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and respiratory problems.