More than 1.1 million children were diagnosed with COVID-19 in the week ended Jan. 20.
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Children and COVID-19: State Data Report, nearly 1,151,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported in that timeframe.
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The number marks a 17% increase over the 981,000 added cases reported the week ended Jan. 13.
It is also a doubling of case counts from the two weeks prior.
Since the onset of the pandemic, the group said that more than 10.6 million children have tested positive for the disease.
LOUISVILLE, KY – AUGUST 17: An unidentified student is administered a test by a Wild Health nurse during a COVID-19 testing day at Brandeis Elementary School on August 17, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images)
More than 2 million of those cases have been added in the past two weeks – though the academy noted data is limited due to its reliance on how each state individually reports its cases.
This report comes as the omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to spread around the country, accounting for nearly all new COVID-19 cases.
“As we approach the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, cases of COVID-19 among children and adolescents are the highest they have ever been. These numbers are staggering,” Dr. Moira Szilagyi, the 2022 president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said in a statement.
“That includes children in the youngest age group of children, who still are waiting for a vaccine,” she added.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone ages 5 years and older get a COVID-19 vaccine.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is authorized for emergency use in children ages 5 to 11 and pre-teens and teenagers ages 12 and up.
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Agency data shows more than 80% of the U.S. population ages 5 and older have received at least one dose and 67.5% are fully vaccinated.
The CDC also advises that children between the ages of 2 and 4 years old and other unvaccinated children 5 years or older should continue to wear a mask in public spaces around people they don’t live with.
