Publication date: Jun 22, 2026
The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a marked decline in respiratory infections and asthma exacerbations in children. Following the easing of restrictions, a rebound in respiratory morbidity was observed. However, the long-term impact on paediatric asthma remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective study using data from the largest healthcare provider in Israel. Children aged 2-18 years with recurrent wheezing or clinician-diagnosed asthma were included. Healthcare utilisation between January 2019 and July 2023 was analysed. A total of 209 954 children, mean age 6. 8 years (56. 9% male), were included. During winter 2020-2021, compared with winter 2019-2020, healthcare utilisation declined significantly for chest radiographs (CXR) (RR = 0. 69), asthma medication dispensing (RR = 0. 67), and emergency department (ED) visits (RR = 0. 61). After restrictions were lifted, all outcomes rose sharply, peaking in summer 2021. By winter 2022-2023, rates of CXR (RR = 1. 30), asthma medication dispensing (RR = 1. 03), ED visits (RR = 1. 04), and hospitalisations (RR = 1. 30) remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels across all age groups. Paediatric respiratory-related healthcare utilisation exceeded pre-pandemic levels during the first and second post-pandemic winters. These findings highlight the unpredictable, long-lasting, and indirect consequences of pandemic-era interventions on respiratory health.
| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Asthma | COVID‐19 |
| Healthcare | healthcare utilisation |
| July | Paediatric asthma |
| Winter | wheezing |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | COVID-19 |
| disease | MESH | respiratory infections |
| disease | MESH | asthma |
| pathway | KEGG | Asthma |
| disease | MESH | wheezing |
| disease | MESH | included |
| disease | MESH | emergency |