More than 53,000 pediatric COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending April 28, up 61 percent from two weeks prior, according to the latest update from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Children accounted for 16.4 percent of U.S. cases for the week ending April 28. This marks the third consecutive week cases have risen among children, though weekly pediatric cases are still down from their omicron surge peak of 1,150,000 cases.
The rise in pediatric cases comes as children under 5 are still ineligible for vaccination.
Four more recent COVID-19 updates:
1. The fast-spreading omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 accounted for 36.5 percent of new cases for the week ending April 30, the CDC's latest variant proportion estimates show. The proportion of cases involving the strain has been steadily increasing since April 16, when it made up 16.7 percent of cases.
2. The share of deaths among older Americans and those with immunocompromising conditions is rising, meaning the unvaccinated no longer account for the overwhelming majority of COVID-19 deaths, The Washington Post reported April 29.
3. Modeling from Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic projects nationwide cases will rise 88 percent over the next two weeks. Forecasts suggest daily average cases will jump from 49,092.4 cases on April 30 to 92,235 by May 14. The nation's daily case average on May 3 was 62,428, a 50 percent increase from 14 days earlier, according to data tracked by The New York Times.
4. COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 18 percent nationwide over the last 14 days, with 40 states and Washington, D.C., reporting an increase. To view the 14-day changes for hospitalizations in each state reporting an increase, click here.