Infant bronchiolitis dramatically reduced during the second French COVID‐19 outbreak

Guedj, Romain; Lorrot, Mathie; Lecarpentier, Thibault; Leger, Pierre‐Louis; Corvol, Harriet; Carbajal, Ricardo

Acute bronchiolitis is one of the most common health burdens in infants worldwide and leads to frequent hospitalisation, morbidity and mortality (1). Children have been relatively spared by the COVID-19 pandemic, but reports of multisystem inflammatory syndrome (2) and probable long-term COVID (3) effects in children have started to emerge. One major concern was whether the overlap of the pandemic and seasonal bronchiolitis would put substantial pressure on healthcare systems. Bronchiolitis has a predictable seasonal pattern, primarily in autumn and winter, and in France this is between October and February. The second COVID-19 wave in France led to a two-week night curfew from 17 October 2020, followed by a full lockdown on 30 October. However, day care centres and primary and secondary schools remained open.