The number of Covid-19 cases among children for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic exceeded 250,000. within a week, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Wednesday. According to the Washington Post, the record number of hospitalized children is also a record – almost 2.4 thousand.
According to an AAP report, 252,000 people were registered last week. The number of children’s cases is already more than 1/4 of all infections, which is also a record. So far, the average was 15%, and last week – 26.8%.
After the incidence declined in early summer, the number of infections increased rapidly in August as education resumed in many states. The current peak time is the beginning of the school year in some northern states, including New York.
Meanwhile, where education resumed in August, many schools were forced to drop out. – We have been closed since Monday, now we have virtual lessons for only two weeks. “Covid is spreading like wildfire here,” said Michael Apke, a primary school teacher in Athens, Ohio, one of the affected schools.
More than 52,000 people have been infected in schools in Texas, one of the worst-affected states, since the beginning of the school year. According to Time magazine, in August, 80 school districts across the country returned to distance learning amid a wave of infections among children.
Washington Post data show that, although severe cases of Covid-19 among children are still rare, the number of hospitalized children is also the highest since the beginning of the pandemic – almost 2.4 thousand. To date, adolescents aged 16-17 years have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine. If we consider only adults, this figure is 75%.
According to the chief medical adviser to the president, Dr. F. Anthony Fauci, the situation may worsen as new schools open and fall. However, he stressed that such a scenario was not inevitable. – In addition to surrounding children with vaccinated people, we must ensure that everyone in the education system wears masks. That’s the decision, Fauci said in an interview with CNN.