Why is COVID-19 so mild in children?

There is an urgent need to understand why the course of the coronavirus that started in late 2019 (COVID-19) is affecting different groups of individuals with varying severity during the ongoing global pandemic. Greater knowledge of the disease, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV2), will help us to prioritise our limited health resources. Because the virus is new, and no vaccine is yet available, everyone is naïve and susceptible to being infected with SARS-CoV2. The virus will continue to spread until an effective vaccine exists or sufficient members of our global population have been infected to establish herd immunity. At the moment, the best way to minimize loss of life and severe cases requiring intensive care is to try and shelter vulnerable groups of individuals and slow down the spread of the virus.