The Baseline Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 Before the Omicron Surge in Korean Children – The Calm Before the Perfect Storm

Since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported, the incidence of pediatric cases stayed very low for a very long period in Korea. Intensive quarantine, strict social distancing measures, and/or school closure may be attributable to this. In addition, during the period, the majority of confirmed pediatric cases showed mild symptoms and mortality was very rare in previously healthy children, occurring mainly in those with comorbidities such as obesity, neurologic disorders, or immunocompromising underlying diseases.¹ Lee et al.2 reported evidence on how much of the pediatric population aged 0–18 years was vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2 infection before the omicron surge. In the report, the observed seroprevalence rate was only 0.11% during the study period, from late December 2020 to late March 2021, when the third COVID-19 wave was in progress in Korea.²