Nasopharyngeal SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in young children do not differ significantly from those in older children and adults

The role of children in the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has become a matter of urgent debate as societies in the US and abroad consider how to safely reopen schools. Small studies have suggested higher viral loads in young children. Here we present a multicenter investigation on over five thousand SARS-CoV-2 cases confirmed by real-time reverse transcription (RT) PCR assay. Notably, we found no discernable difference in amount of viral nucleic acid among young children and adults.