KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Doctors with the East Tennessee Children's Hospital are urging kids to get routine checkups a few weeks after they test positive for COVID-19.
They said that the checkups are to make sure they stay healthy since the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 are still being researched.
"The American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending a check-up a couple of weeks after COVID-19, after the isolation period is over," said Dr. Joe Childs, who works with ETCH. "There are some things that can show up later, after COVID-19, that parents need to be alert to."
Most children have mild symptoms of COVID-19 if they contract the virus. However, officials said it is important for kids to get tested as researchers discover more about the long-term health consequences of COVID-19.
The Tennessee Department of Health is reporting ten times as many new cases of COVID-19 in kids as they did in July. Officials with ETCH said four COVID-19 patients were in the pediatric intensive care unit.