U.S. reports nearly 350,000 child COVID-19 cases in past 4 weeks

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Nearly 350,000 child COVID-19 cases have been reported in the United States in the past 4 weeks, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

About 86,600 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending Aug. 25, an increase of 9 percent from the week prior, according to the report published on Monday.

Over 14.4 million children have been reported to have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the report. Approximately 6.6 million reported cases have been added in 2022.

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, said the AAP.

"It is important to recognize 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," said the AAP.