US: COVID-19 cases among children peaked in September, shows data
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More than 6 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with more than 1.1 million new cases recorded from September 3 to September 30
New data shows that September was the worst month in the US for new cases and deaths. Data from the American Academy of Pediatrics reveals that cases among children peaked in September, as many schools opened for offline classes amid growing cases of delta variant.
More than 6 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic, with more than 1.1 million new cases recorded from September 3 to September 30.
The data has been obtained from individual states, which have varying definitions of “child.”
While some include 19-year-olds, West Virginia includes people up to age 20.
A very small proportion of young children infected with COVID-19 get severely ill or die.
The weekly data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that COVID-19 deaths among children under age 15 also reached their highest level in September.
Recently, Pfizer has asked the US government to approve the use of its COVID-19 vaccine in children aged 5 to 11 years old, and if regulators agree, injections may start within weeks. In a trial of children, Pfizer had previously declared that a lower dose of their vaccine worked and looked to be safe.
Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech officially submitted their application to the Food and Drug Administration on Thursday.
The data will be debated by FDA advisers later this month.
Last month, Pfizer submitted research to the US Food and Drug Administration on the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in children. Pfizer says it will also submit the data to the European Medicines Agency and other regulators.