Nearly 480,000 children infected with Covid-19 in US, says report

Nearly 480,000 cases of Covid-19 among children have been reported in the US since the onset of the pandemic, Xinhua news agency says according to a new report by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

While children represented only 9.5% of all cases in states reporting cases by age, a total of 476,439 children have tested positive for Covid-19, said the report released on Monday.

The overall rate is 631 cases per 100,000 children in the population.
70,330 new child cases were reported from Aug 13 to 27, a 17% increase in child cases over two weeks, the report added.

Children comprised 0.6% to 4.1% of total reported hospitalisations and 0 to 0.3% of all Covid-19 deaths, said the report.

“At this time, it appears that severe illness due to Covid-19 is rare among children.

“However, states should continue to provide detailed reports on Covid-19 cases, testing, hospitalisations, and mortality by age so that the effects of Covid-19 on children’s health can be documented and monitored,” said the report.