Burden of COVID-19 in Korean Children: A Retrospective Observational Study Using Real-world Data

BACKGROUND: While children were initially less susceptible to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), emerging variants and eased public health measures shifted the burden to younger populations. This study characterizes pediatric COVID-19 features in South Korea across 7 epidemic waves, evaluating vaccination and comorbidities on disease severity. METHODS: This retrospective study used the national K-COV-N database, integrating surveillance and health insurance claims data. Children 1-17 years old with confirmed COVID-19 from January 2020 to August 2023 were included. Participants were stratified by age and dominant variant waves. Logistic regression assessed demographic and clinical risk factors for severity. RESULTS: Among 239,334 cases, the Omicron-dominant era (waves 5-7) accounted for 97.88% of the total burden. Although the mean hospital stay decreased from 12.6 days (wave 1) to 3.7 days (wave 5), mortality and multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children were concentrated during Omicron waves. Children 1-4 years of age experienced the most severe outcomes. Multivariate analysis identified cardiovascular disease (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 3.97), neurologic disorders (AOR: 2.88) and obesity (AOR: 2.68) as significant independent risk factors for severity. After adjusting for age and sex, vaccination showed limited protective effects against severe outcomes in this cohort. CONCLUSIONS: The pediatric COVID-19 landscape in South Korea shifted to massive community transmission during the Omicron era. While individual clinical severity declined, the absolute burden remained significant due to high prevalence. Future outbreak mitigation requires targeted protection for high-risk groups and scalable healthcare planning.