At least 97,000 children tested positive for COVID-19 in the last two weeks of July and there have been an estimated 338,000 cases with children in the US since the pandemic began, a new report finds.
Why it matters: The findings in the report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association come as schools and day care look at recovery in the U.S., with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Friday that school districts in the state may reopen in the fall amid lower rates for coronavirus transmission.
- Some schools have already reopened for personal learning in the south – including in Georgia, where authorities confirmed that nine people tested positive for the novel coronavirus at one school.
- There have been many reports of the spread of viruses through schools and summer camps, and evidence has begun to support the idea that children may play an important role in the transmission of the community, notes Axios’ Caitlin Owens.
Fan note: The virus is disproportionately affecting Black and Latino children, who have the highest rates of hospitalization, per CDC.
- The CDC received 570 reports from March 2 to July 18 of young people, whose age ranged from beech to 20 years old, infected with the virus. Of these, 40.5% were Hispanic or Latino, 33.1% were Black and 13.2% were White.
What we know: The latest CDC Weekly report on morbidity and mortality states that although most cases of coronavirus in children are asymptomatic or mild, less is known about severe infections in children requiring hospitalization.
- The CDC notes that children are much less likely to be hospitalized with the coronavirus than adults “one in three children in the hospital was admitted to an intensive care unit.”
- A South Korean study last month found that people aged 10 to 19 can spread the coronavirus at least as effectively over those ages.
The finish line: Tina Hartert of Vanderbilt University, who is leading a government-funded study into the effects of coronavirus on children, told AP: “[W]they just do not yet know to what extent children can transmit the virus. “
Go deeper: How back-to-school in the south plays out when coronavirus takes root
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