Introduction
There are limited data in paediatric populations evaluating whether chronic cardiac or respiratory conditions, such as congenital heart disease (CHD) and asthma, are associated with increased susceptibility to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Understanding the comorbidity profiles of children with COVID-19 is important to inform public health measures and vaccine prioritisation. Adult data indicate that asthma and cystic fibrosis (CF) may not affect susceptibility or outcomes to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) [1-4]. The aims of this study were to evaluate the prevalence of asthma and other cardiorespiratory diseases in a paediatric cohort attending a major tertiary paediatric facility (The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne, Australia) for SARS-CoV-2 testing. Our specific objectives were to (1) determine whether children with cardiac or respiratory comorbidities were more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 than those without, and (2) if children with these pre-existing comorbidities experienced a higher rate of symptomatic infection than those without comorbidities.