More than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases were reported among children for the week ending Jan. 20, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
This marks a 17 percent increase from the week ending Jan. 13, when 981,000 new cases were reported, and is double the number of new pediatric cases from the week ending Jan. 6.
"As we approach the two-year anniversary of the pandemic, cases of COVID-19 among children and adolescents are the highest they have ever been. The numbers are staggering," said Moira Szilagyi, MD, PhD, president of the AAP.
Continuing to practice prevention strategies such as wearing masks in public and staying up to date with vaccinations is critical to protect children, especially those under 5, who remain ineligible for COVID-19 vaccination, Dr. Szilagyi said.
More than 10.6 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. More than 2 million of these cases were added in the past two weeks alone, the AAP said.
The report highlights young children's vulnerability to COVID-19 at a time when the nation's seven-day average for new cases is falling. Nationwide, COVID-19 cases fell 5 percent the week ending Jan. 19 compared to a week prior, according to CDC data.