COVID-19 Cases Surge 84% Among Children and Teens in U.S.
Nearly 72,000 children and teens tested positive for COVID-19, marking a “substantial” increase of 84% from the week prior, the American Academy of Pediatrics said.
Between July 22-29, the group counted 71,726 cases. Only 39,000 cases were reported the week before.
The disturbing rise in cases comes amid a new wave of COVID-19 cases across the country, mainly among unvaccinated adults who are being infected by the more contagious delta variant strain.
“That’s high and considering the fact that we are vaccinated now, what that’s telling us is that unvaccinated people are getting infected in higher numbers because the virus is more infectious with the delta variant,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, head of the division of infectious diseases in the Department of Pediatrics at Stanford Medicine.
Since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020, more than 4 million children 17 and under have tested positive for COVID-19.
In data tabulated from the last week, 19% of all new reported coronavirus cases were from children and teens, according to CNN.
Currently, children under the age of 12 are not eligible for any of the three vaccines that have been authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. The need for full approval of the vaccines in order for children to receive them comes as schools across the country are ready to welcome students back for the first time on a full-time basis since over a year-and-a-half ago.
Many countries have started to administer coronavirus vaccines to their citizens as COVID-19 cases top 132 million worldwide.
For now, as regulators are still awaiting the results of clinical trials involving the coronavirus vaccine and children, Maldonado along with many other health experts are encouraging all eligible adults to receive their vaccine.
“Our sense is because kids can’t get vaccinated, parents should clearly be vaccinated themselves, and if their kids are 12 and older they should be vaccinated as well,” Maldonado said.
Children have accounted for fewer than 1,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic and recent data shows that kids make up just 1.3%-3.5% of hospitalizations nationwide.
