About 2.5 mln children in US infected with COVID-19

WASHINGTON - About 2.5 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to a latest report of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

Over 211,000 new child COVID-19 cases were reported last week ending Jan 14, the highest weekly increase since the pandemic began, according to the AAP.

Over the two weeks from Dec 31 to Jan 14, there were 382,545 new child COVID-19 cases reported across the country, an 18 percent increase, according to the AAP.

Children accounted for 12.6 percent of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States. The overall rate was 3,336 cases per 100,000 children in the population, according to the report.

"At this time, it appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects," the AAP said in the report.