Pediatricians say nearly 800K children have had coronavirus

Almost 800,000 children in the U.S. have been infected by COVID-19 this year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Monday, adding that current cases among children are rising.

In their latest state-level data report, the AAP shared statistics that demonstrate a growing prevalence of coronavirus among youth.

Currently there are about 8.4 million cases of the coronavirus in the U.S., with children now making up 11 percent of that number — about 1,053 cases per 100,000 kids.

During the period from Oct. 8 to Oct. 22, there were 4,555 new youth cases reported, a 14 percent increase.

So far, deaths and hospitalizations among children diagnosed with the coronavirus have been quite rare. Only 1 percent to 3.6 percent of total reported hospitalizations were kids, and children made up 0 percent to 0.23 percent of reported deaths stemming from COVID-19. Sixteen states reported that no children had died as a result of the virus.

The AAP based their findings on reports from 49 states, New York City, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam.