A new report confirms that nearly 3.03 million US children are diagnosed with Covid-19 since the pandemic began. In last week more than 100,000 children were confirmed having Covid-19, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). These findings rule out the previous assumption that coronavirus doesn’t affect children much and they are safe from the pandemic.
The new cases in children are nearly 13% of the total Covid-19 cases in the US. This number is nearly six times more than the cases reported in April 2020 when the pandemic was new and only 2% of children were affected.
Also read- New Strains May Increase COVID-19 Death Rate in the Coming Weeks
Surprisingly, this infection is not deadly for children and the death rate by Covid-19 is only 0.01% in US children.
The doctors are warning parents to be watchful of changes in their children especially if they exhibit any Covid-19 sign. Children are more likely to experience a Covid-19 linked inflammatory action which can be deadly if left untreated.
This report says that the incidence of Covid-19 cases in US children is approximately 4,034 cases in every 100,000 children. This figure shows a 255% increase from the number of cases back in October where this incidence was recorded 1,134 cases in every 100,000 children. Within the second week of February 2021, at least 99,078 cases of Covid-19 in children have confirmed which increased the total number of cases from 2,816,775 to 3,033,370, showing 8% increase within two weeks.
Nine US states are contributing to 16% of cases in US children which include Minnesota, Tennessee, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont, South Carolina, Wyoming, Washington and New Mexico. Among these states, Wyoming tops the list with the highest number of Covid-19 cases in children by reporting 19.8% of the total Covid-19 cases in the state in young ones.
Only three US states have reported less than 10% of their total Covid-19 cases in children. These states are New York City (NYC), Florida and New Jersey.
Nine US states have reported having 600 positive cases in every 100,000 children. These states include Tennessee, South Carolina, Wyoming, Rhode Island, Arkansas, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Arizona and South Dakota. Among these states, North Dakota reported 8,400 cases in 100,000 children, becoming the highest case reporting state.
Despite this widespread, the hospitalizations of children are only 2.9% of the total hospitalizations reported in the country. There are only 240 death reports from eight states only and one state, District of Columbia has not reported any death case involving a child.
Also read- UK Confirms South African Variant in 15 New Covid-19 Cases
As the pandemic is progressing, more and more children are getting infected by Covid-19. Despite having less severe symptoms and reduced hospitalizations, there is no information on how this pandemic may affect them in the long run. Some health experts believe that this virus may have some hidden effects in children which will show up after some time. It includes both physical and mental effects but without any study, it is hard to estimate the risk for them.
This report is out during a time when doctors are reporting a rapid increase in the cases of MIS or Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in US children. This condition causes inflammation in the body which can impair the function of visceral organs, leading to organ failure. But just like Covid-19 itself, there is no information if this MIC will show up effects in later years.
