Children now represent more than a quarter — or 26.8% — of weekly Covid-19 cases nationwide, according to data released from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
COVID-NET: Trends in Hospitalization Rates in Children Ages 5–11 Years Not Eligible for Vaccination
CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019-Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) shows that rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations remain elevated in children ages 5–11 years and younger. Recent weekly rates of COVID-19-associated hospitalizations for these children are the highest they have ever been. Rates in children ages 5–11 years are 1.1 per 100,000 for the week ending September 25, 2021. Children 12 years and younger are not yet eligible for any of the available COVID-19 vaccines.
“Vaccines haven’t reached many youth and aren’t yet available to kids who are now out in the community more than they were before,” he says. “It’s a game of catch up, with the vaccination rollout initially focused on the elderly who are at highest risk of getting severely sick.”