Surge in child covid-19 cases

Nearly 330,000 child COVID-19 cases had been reported in the United States in the past four weeks, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association.

Nearly 68,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending June 23, far higher than one year ago, the week of June 24, 2021, when 8,400 child cases were reported, according to the report.

Approximately 5.8 million child COVID-19 cases had been recorded in the United States this year, according to the report.

Over 13.6 million children in the United States had tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, said the report.

There is an urgent need to collect more data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, the AAP reported.

“It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children’s health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth,” said the AAP.

Photo: Xinhua A girl has her temperature measured at a COVID-19 vaccination site in Times Square, New York, the United States, on June 22, 2022.