14.8 mn US children infected with Covid19

LOS ANGELES: Nearly 14.8 million children in the US have tested positive for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

Nearly 238,000 of these cases have been added in the past four weeks. Nearly 6.9 million reported cases have been added in 2022, according to the report.

For the week ending September 29, 39,200 child Covid-19 cases were reported, and child Covid-19 cases accounted for 15.2 per cent of all infections reported in the US, Xinhua news agency reported.

But the reported cases are likely a "substantial undercount" of Covid-19 cases, according to the report.

There is a need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, said the AAP.

"It is important to recognise there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children's health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impact on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," the AAP added.