New covid-19 cases are skyrocketing among U.S. children, who were diagnosed with a weekly record of 61,000-plus new infections last week, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Black and Hispanic children suffered disproportionately higher rates of infection, said Sally Goza, president of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), in a press release.
Although severe illness from covid appears to be rare among children, pediatricians are concerned about the long-term physical, emotional and mental health of infected children.
“I’m very concerned about the long-term harms that children may suffer, particularly Black and Hispanic children, who are suffering a higher number of infections,” Goza said. “This includes not only children who test positive for the virus, but everyone in these communities who are suffering disproportionate emotional and mental health harms.”
In mid-April, children accounted for 2 percent of U.S. covid-19 cases. Now they account for 11 percent, with 853,000 children testing positive for since the onset of the pandemic.
Although the virus spreads in schools, schools are rarely super-spreaders, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. Still, many schools have experienced infections, leading them to quarantine some students and staff at home or switch to online learning after severe outbreaks.
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The true number of children with covid-19 is higher than what has been reported, AAP said, according to an NBC News report. That’s because the virus tends to be mild in children and they may not always be tested.
The rates of severe disease and death from covid-19 have been significantly lower in children compared to adults. The thymus gland, where T-cells live, may offer children some protection. T-cells play a central role in immune response. The thymus is more active in childhood than adulthood.
An American Academy of Pediatrics report found that children represented 1 perent-to-3.5 percent of total reported hospitalizations for states that reported.
Children represented 0 percent-to-0.2 percent of all covid-19 deaths, according to the Oct. 29 American Academy of Pediatrics report.
Black people represent 13.4 percent of Americans but accounted for 18.7 percent of all coronavirus deaths from May to August, according to new analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
