The risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19 is “extremely low” in children and young people, according to new research. The study—led by researchers at University College London (UCL), Imperial College London, and the universities of Bristol, York, and Liverpool—also found that while catching COVID-19 increased the likelihood of serious illness in those with pre-existing medical conditions and severe disabilities, the overall risk remained low. One of the pre-print studies, led by paediatric registrar at the University of Bristol Dr. Clare Smith, found that 61 children and young people had died with a positive COVID-19 test from March 2020 through to February 2021. Of these, some 40 percent died of COVID-19, meaning that 25 children and young people actually died from the virus out of an estimated 469,000 infections. Dr. Smith told reporters at a briefing that this meant that “99.995 percent of children and young people who were …