There were 178,935 new cases of Covid-19 reported among children in the week ending December 24, the American Academy of Pediatrics said on Tuesday.
According to the AAP, this number of cases brings the cumulative total to 2,000,681 positive cases of Covid-19 among children since the beginning of the pandemic. As of December 24, children accounted for 12.4% of all Covid-19 cases in the USA.
The AAP also noted that since November 12, there has been an increase of 1 million cases of Covid-19 in children, and in the last two weeks, from December 10 to 24, there has been a 22% increase in child cases.
This puts the overall rate at “2,658 cases per 100,000 children in the population,” said the AAP.
“At the moment, it appears that the serious illness caused by Covid-19 is rare among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including the ways in which the virus can harm children. -term physical health of infected children, as well as their emotional and mental health effects, “said the AAP data report.