SARS-CoV-2 började cirkulera i slutet av 2019 och ungefär tre månader senare klassades utbrottet som en pandemi. Idag, ungefär ett och ett halvt år efter virusutbrottet kämpar människor i hela världen fortfarande för att ta sig ur kriserna som pandemin orsakar. Trots stora forskningsinsatser är det ännu mycket som är ovisst kring virusets uppkomst. Olika teorier försöker bevisas men till dagens datum är det inte bekräftat var SARS-CoV-2 har sitt ursprung. Det verkar troligt att SARS-CoV-2 har en gemensam förfader med β-coronaviruset RaTG13. Det är sannolikt att fladdermus tillsammans med minst en mellanvärd har varit inblandad i uppkomsten av viruset. Viruset har gett upphov till flera varianter som spridit ut sig i världen. Globalt samarbete med övervakning av mutationer och varianter är viktigt för hur utvecklingen av pandemin ska fortgå. Med SARS-CoV-2 och Covid-19-pandemin som utgångspunkt analyseras möjligheter och utmaningar med undervisning i gymnasieskolan om aktuella stora händelser. / The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 occurred at the end of 2019 and three months later, it was declared as a pandemic. Today, roughly one and a half years later, people across the world are still struggling to get out of the crises caused by the pandemic. Despite the huge efforts within science, much is still uncertain about the virus’ origin. Different theories are trying to be proven by scientists but to date, there is no confirmation from where the virus has its origin, nor whether one or several intermediate hosts have been involved. It seems likely that SARS- CoV-2 has a common ancestor with the bat β-coronavirus RaTG13. Therefore, it is probable that bats with at least one other intermediate host have been involved in the origin of the virus. Several variants have emerged and spread throughout the world. Global cooperation in regards of surveilling mutations and variants is of great importance regarding the development of the pandemic. Using SARS-CoV-2 and the Covid-19 pandemic as a focal point, there is an analysis showing opportunities and challenges when teaching big contemporary events.

Purpose To investigate the relationship between the risk of pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PIMS-TS) in children and the predominance of different SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOC) over time. Methods In relation to the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron VOC phases of the pandemic, the risk of developing PIMS-TS was calculated by analyzing data for rtPCR-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections reported to the German statutory notification system, along with data captured by a separate, national PIMS-TS registry. Both overall infection rates and age group-specific ratios of PIMS-TS during the different pandemic phases were calculated using the Alpha period as the baseline. Results The PIMS-TS rate changed significantly over time. When the Alpha VOC was dominant [calendar week (CW) 11 in March–CW 31 in August 2021], the PIMS-TS rate was 6.19 [95% confidence intervals (95% CI) 5.17, 7.20]. When Delta prevailed (CW 32 in August 2021–CW 4 in January 2022), the rate decreased to 1.68 (95% CI 1.49, 1.87). During the Omicron phase (CW 5 in January–CW 16 in April 2022), the rate fell further to 0.89 (95% CI 0.79, 1.00). These changes correspond to a decreased PIMS-TS rate of 73% (rate ratio 0.271, 95% CI 0.222; 0.332) and 86% (rate ratio 0.048, 95% CI 0.037; 0.062), respectively, in comparison to the Alpha period. Rate ratios were nearly identical for all age groups. Conclusion The data strongly suggest an association between the risk for PIMS-TS and the prevailing VOC, with highest risk related to Alpha and the lowest to Omicron. Given the uniformity of the decreased risk across age groups, vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 does not appear to have a significant impact on the risk of children developing PIMS-TS.