Over 13 million children in the United States 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, over 62,000 additional child COVID-19 cases were reported in the week ending May 5.

AAP reported an increase of about 69 per cent from two weeks ago; this marks the fourth consecutive weekly increase in reported child cases in the United States.

Nearly 186,000 child COVID-19 cases had been added in the past four weeks and 5.2 million child cases had been added in 2022, according to the report.

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“There is an urgent need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects,”

“It is important to recognise that there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children’s health but importantly, we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental and social well-being of this generation of children and youth,” AAP said. (Xinhua/ NAN)