The COVID-19 pandemic may be in the rearview mirror, but Europe is still grappling with its aftereffects. In Denmark, for example, the number of children00270-9/fulltext) and teenagers with mycoplasma pneumoniae – a bacteria that causes respiratory tract infections – surged about three-fold in the 2023-2024 season compared to the pre-pandemic years. Hospitalisations were also 2.6 times higher. However, the Danish kids’ infections were no more severe than in previous years – indicating that while more people got sick, they didn’t get sicker than expected. Countries like England, Germany, and Fr…