Clinical features of COVID-19 infection among young adults on the example of medical students

Young adults are the most active and socialized group of the population. Involvement in social work, volunteering, tourism, active migration within the country and abroad, including for the purpose of education, give reason to consider young people potentially responsible for the spread of a new coronavirus infection. Clinical assessment of the COVID-19 course in young adults has a considerable interest due to the expansion of opportunities for early detection of the disease among representatives of this age group, as well as the timely prevention of further transmission of infection. It is known that, despite the predominance of mild COVID-19 and a better prognosis for recovery compared with older patients, cases of adverse outcomes and a variety of clinical symptoms that persist in the post-COVID period have been described in young adults. A voluntary anonymous survey of 97 senior students of a medical university who had a COVID-19 infection was conducted. During the surveywas carried out a detailed assessment of the diseasecourse, features of diagnosis, treatment and condition after clinical and laboratory recovery. Separately, questions were asked about the attitude of medical students to vaccination, and it was also proposed to give their own recommendations to people who had not yet had a new coronavirus infection based on their own clinical experience. Among young people, the prevalence of a mild form of COVID-19 was noted, while a wide variety of symptoms were revealed. The five most common clinical manifestations included weakness, taste and smell disorders, runny nose, dry cough and fever. Asymptomatic form of the disease was observed rarely. It was noted that even several months after the infection, many of the symptoms of the disease in young adults persisted. Outpatient treatment among prospective clinicians has not always been consistent with current guidelines. In some cases, young people neglect anti-epidemic rules and can serve as a source of infection for contact persons.

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