Pediatric COVID-19 Cases Are at Their Peak—and the Data Haven’t Caught Up with School Openings Yet

Cases of COVID-19 in children grew 62% between August 5 and September 9 of this year (from 93,824 to 243,373), according to data collected from state departments of health by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. Hospitalizations are up among infected children, too, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The scary part is, these data were collected before schools even opened up in many big cities. With children under the age of 12 not eligible to be vaccinated and many districts not having mask mandates for students or staff, clearly this does not bode well for the coming months. While the virus has proven to be deadlier in adults, there have been more than 400 fatalities among children. Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has been identified as a particularly strong threat. With the surge not only continuing but escalating, ensure your team is well-versed in its signs and symptoms. JUCM published an article on this topic not long ago. You can read Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C): Who Should Not Be MISC’ED? in our archive now.