Decreased incidence followed by comeback of pediatric infections during the COVID‑19 pandemic in Japan

During the coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)pandemic,the Japanese government implemented several infection control measures,such as states of emergency(SoE)and school closures,and encouraged universal masking and hand hygiene.Initial activity restrictions and improved hygiene were found to be associated with declines in the incidence of infuenza during the 2019–2020 winter season[1].Prior studies have found that the incidence of seven pediatric infections,such as pharyngoconjunctivitis and varicella,decreased during and after the school closures in Japan[2].As activity restrictions continue to be lifted,there is growing concern that pediatric infections may suddenly return given that the pool of susceptible children increased during the pandemic[3].In this study,we use national infectious disease sentinel data from January 2012 to October 2021 to assess changes in the reported number of pediatric infections in Japan during the COVID-19 pandemic.We hypothesize that the reporting of many infectious diseases decreased during the early stages of the pandemic but ultimately returned to normal when activity restrictions were lifted.