Covid cases among children rises.

With the total global Covid-19 cases standing at 37,099,164 in the first week of October, children have represented 16.3 percent of all accumulated cases. And in the same week, children accounted for 24.8 percent of weekly reported Covid-19 cases.

According to the same report, child Covid-19 cases have been trending up cumulatively at a higher rate this last quarter compared to the beginning of the pandemic. The sixth million reached on October 7 arrived at a higher rate than the past five million.

While that may be the case, the data also shows that the weekly count of cases has dropped in recent months. This marks the first time in nearly two months that weekly infections have dropped below 150,000. The week leading up to October 7 (148 222 cases) saw Child Covid cases drop by 14.6 percent from the last week of September (173,468 cases) and by 41.1 percent at the peak of infection in the first week of September (251,781 cases.)

Despite the recent drop in Covid-19 child cases, new child Covid-19 cases remain high, with 750,000 children testing positive for Covid-19 in the four weeks leading to October 7.

Severe illness from Covid-19 is uncommon among children, with some states reporting low Covid-19 related hospitalizations. According to data from reporting states, children made up 1.6 to 4.2 percent of all cumulative hospitalization. Additionally, child mortality resulting from Covid-19 complications is relatively low, with reporting states having 0.00 to 0.26 percent deaths from Covid-19, with some reporting zero.

There is a limitation to this data though, states like Alabama, Nebraska, and Texas have stopped updating their Covid-19 dashboards. With data from the three states being excluded in the report, the report’s integrity may be questioned, but other metrics have pointed to a similar trajectory in child Covid-19 cases.

These metrics show that children aged 0 to 11 years, say emergency room visits involving a COVID-19 diagnosis, drop from 4.1 percent of all ED visits in late August to 1.4 percent of ED visits on October 6.

Moreover, ED visits relating to Covid-19 dropped from a peak of 8.5 percent on August 22 to 1.5 percent on October 6 for 12- to 15-year-olds and from 8.5 percent to 1.5 percent in those aged 16-17 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While deaths and severe illness are still low, Covid-19 deaths among children have remained constant, with at least 22 children dying weekly for the virus.  Despite vaccines being made available for children over 12 and soon children aged 5 to 12, many parents remain split on whether to vaccinate their children or not. According to a separate report by AAP, there has been a steady decline in the number of children receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.

As of October 7, the number of Covid-19 child cases hit the sixth million. The week ending October 7 saw 6,047,371 children cumulatively test positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to new data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

With the total global Covid-19 cases standing at 37,099,164 in the first week of October, children have represented 16.3 percent of all accumulated cases. And in the same week, children accounted for 24.8 percent of weekly reported Covid-19 cases.

According to the same report, child Covid-19 cases have been trending up cumulatively at a higher rate this last quarter compared to the beginning of the pandemic. The sixth million reached on October 7 arrived at a higher rate than the past five million.

While that may be the case, the data also shows that the weekly count of cases has dropped in recent months. This marks the first time in nearly two months that weekly infections have dropped below 150,000. The week leading up to October 7 (148 222 cases) saw Child Covid cases drop by 14.6 percent from the last week of September (173,468 cases) and by 41.1 percent at the peak of infection in the first week of September (251,781 cases.)

Despite the recent drop in Covid-19 child cases, new child Covid-19 cases remain high, with 750,000 children testing positive for Covid-19 in the four weeks leading to October 7.

Severe illness from Covid-19 is uncommon among children, with some states reporting low Covid-19 related hospitalizations. According to data from reporting states, children made up 1.6 to 4.2 percent of all cumulative hospitalization. Additionally, child mortality resulting from Covid-19 complications is relatively low, with reporting states having 0.00 to 0.26 percent deaths from Covid-19, with some reporting zero.

There is a limitation to this data though, states like Alabama, Nebraska, and Texas have stopped updating their Covid-19 dashboards. With data from the three states being excluded in the report, the report’s integrity may be questioned, but other metrics have pointed to a similar trajectory in child Covid-19 cases.

These metrics show that children aged 0 to 11 years, say emergency room visits involving a COVID-19 diagnosis, drop from 4.1 percent of all ED visits in late August to 1.4 percent of ED visits on October 6.

Moreover, ED visits relating to Covid-19 dropped from a peak of 8.5 percent on August 22 to 1.5 percent on October 6 for 12- to 15-year-olds and from 8.5 percent to 1.5 percent in those aged 16-17 years, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

While deaths and severe illness are still low, Covid-19 deaths among children have remained constant, with at least 22 children dying weekly for the virus.  Despite vaccines being made available for children over 12 and soon children aged 5 to 12, many parents remain split on whether to vaccinate their children or not. According to a separate report by AAP, there has been a steady decline in the number of children receiving the Covid-19 vaccine.