New Data Shows Children Represented One-Quarter Of Recent COVID Infections Nationwide
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- New data from the American Academy of Pediatrics shows more than a quarter of COVID-19 cases reported in the U.S. over a recent one-week period were found in children.
The data comes with the caveat that the age range states consider children varies, with some states counting anyone 20 and younger a child. In Minnesota, anyone 19 and younger was recorded as a child.
From Aug. 26 through Sept. 2, children represented 26.8% of reported COVID-19 cases, according to the AAP. That percentage represents more than 250,000 infections.
In Minnesota, children represent about 19% of the cumulative reported cases since the pandemic started, nearly 124,000, the AAP said.
The news comes as children across the country head back to school, many of them in person. There remains no approved vaccine for children younger than 12.
Numbers from the Minnesota Department of Health released Wednesday show Minnesota has seen 663,248 reported cases since the pandemic began, with 7,865 deaths attributed to the virus recorded.