Amid school re-openings and 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., new data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows that instances of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and deaths among children and teens are increasing at a more rapid pace than the general public.
According to an article from the New York Times, while children and teenagers are less likely to contract and experience severe symptoms related to COVID-19, “Dr. Sean O’Leary, vice chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on infectious diseases, said that substantial community spread in many parts of the United States corresponded with more infections among children.”
While the new data comes from increased testing, there is evidence that children and young adults are contracting the virus more frequently than earlier in the year, due to the uptick in hospitalizations and deaths among children.
While there is still much that is unknown about how the virus affects minors, Black and Latino children are more likely to be hospitalized than their white peers.
“Since the beginning of the summer, every state in the country has had an increase in the number of young people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, as a share of all cases. In late May, about 5 percent of the nation’s cases were documented in minors. By Aug. 20, that number had risen to more than 9 percent,” says the Times.
Sources: The Washington Post 8/31/20; New York Times 8/31/20; American Academy of Pediatrics; CDC 8/14/20
