The emergence of new coronaviruses poses a significant global health threat, as witnessed during recent outbreaks. Coronaviruses were first identified in the 1960s, primarily causing mild respiratory illnesses in humans. The introduction of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002, on the other hand, constituted a watershed moment. The outbreak began in China and swiftly spread to numerous nations, resulting in severe respiratory sickness and a global public health disaster. The SARS-CoV outbreak demonstrated coronaviruses' ability to cause severe illness and inspired substantial study into their origins and transmission patterns.

In the nightmare of the coronavirus pandemic that is spreading around the world, parents could take comfort in one thing - early reports that the virus mysteriously spares children, even though this often leads to critical illness in older people. An article published in the Journal “Pediatrics”, based on 2,143 young people in China, provides the most comprehensive evidence of the spread of the virus among children, and there is bad news and good news [1].

There are many reasons why people may feel hesitant to accept vaccines for their children, with fears about a link between vaccines and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) being one of the most common. In fact, parents of children with ASD are among those most likely to become vaccine hesitant. Vaccine-hesitant parents may delay and/or refuse one or more vaccines for their children, which subsequently places them at increased risk for contracting and spreading vaccine-preventable diseases.

Achieving and maintaining recommended vaccination coverage is a major public health goal [1]. Indeed, rates of childhood vaccine coverage in the U.S. among young children have remained high and stable in recent years [2]. While racial/ethnic disparities in recommended childhood vaccine coverage in the general population have been absent or reduced over time, income disparities have changed at different rates within racial/ethnic groups and in some cases have increased [3].

Spinal cord infarction is extremely uncommon among vascular events, accounting for only 0.3-1% of all strokes and 5-8% of acute myelopathies. While deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, and stroke are commonly observed complications of COVID-19, spinal cord infarction is relatively rare.