As COVID cases in children At a record level not seen since last year, experts warned that as the epidemic spreads and children return to school, the situation will only get worse Delta variant All over the country.
According to the latest report The American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association reported more than 180,000 pediatric COVID cases in the week ending August 19, up from 38,000 reported at the end of July.
Dr. Nusheen Ameenuddin, a community pediatrician at the Mayo Clinic, said: “It is horrible to see the number and severity of COVID-19 cases of children with Delta mutations continue to rise, and so many children are still unprotected. ” NBC Finance Channel“The pandemic never stops. Unfortunately, you only need to light a match to rekindle hell.”
As the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread, this significant increase follows.Due to the COVID infection, many schools across the country had to temporarily close their doors, requesting Thousands of people are quarantined.
CNN Medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner told the news media: “The virus is raging in all these unvaccinated children, which is why wearing masks in schools is so important.”
Compounding the problem is that most school-age children do not have an approved COVID vaccine.this Pfizer vaccineIt was approved by the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to only accept people 16 years and older. People under the age of 12 cannot get the COVID vaccine at all.
According to CNBC, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 44% of 16-year-old and 17-year-old children have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 34% of 12 to 15-year-old children have received two doses of the vaccine.
Surgeon Dr. Vivek Murthy Tell CNN On Tuesday, the COVID vaccine for children under 12 years of age may be launched before the end of the year. However, this may not be fast enough.
Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the FDA Vaccine Advisory Committee, told CNN that because the Delta variant is highly contagious, cold and dry winters may make the virus more likely to spread, especially when children sit together in a classroom.
He continued, “You will have a group of completely susceptible people in one place. This is not a good recipe.”
But Offit insisted that health officials took the time to ensure Coronavirus disease vaccine For children, it has been rigorously tested and considered safe before authorized use.
According to a CNBC report, according to CDC data, children accounted for only 1.8% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States. Of the 520,000 COVID-19 deaths in the country, fewer than 500 were children under the age of 18.
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