Nearly 94,000 Kids Got COVID-19 Last Week. They Were 15% Of All New Infections

Coronavirus cases among children are rising at a time when the highly infectious delta variant is advancing across the United States at a rapid clip.

New state-level data analyzed by The American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association shows that children accounted for roughly 15% of all newly reported COVID-19 infections across the nation for the week ending on August 5.

Nearly 94,000 child cases of coronavirus were recorded during that period, a 31% increase over the roughly 72,000 cases reported the week prior. In the week before that, there were 39,000 new child cases.

The AAP and CHA said that new coronavirus cases in children have been increasing since July after a period of decline in the early summer.

One big question for parents — whether delta is making kids sicker than previous strains — still has no clear answer.

But the numbers appear to show that severe illness, hospitalization and death are rare in children infected with COVID-19.

In states where data was available, less than 2% of all child COVID-19 cases required hospitalization and 0.00%-0.03% were fatal.

Cases are spiking in children as many of them prepare for the start of a new school year, which is now tinged with uncertainty. Some states are attempting to block school districts from requiring students to wear masks.

Children under age 12 are still not approved to receive the coronavirus vaccine. [Copyright 2021 NPR]