Over 14 million children in US infected with COVID-19

Xinhua , Tuesday 26 Jul 2022

Over 14 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

US child being tested for COVID-19
File Photo: One-year-old Quentin Brown is held by his mother, Heather Brown, as he eyes a swab while being tested for COVID-19 at a new walk-up testing site at Chief Sealth High School in Seattle, US. AP

 

Over 92,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending July 21, the second consecutive weekly increase of reported cases, according to the report.

Over 311,000 child COVID-19 cases have been added in the past 4 weeks. Approximately 6.1 million reported cases have been added in 2022.

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

"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. 

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