As kids around the country head back to school, the threat of the COVID-19 delta variant continues to increase. Last week, the U.S. reached a troubling new milestone in the pandemic. The number of children hospitalized with the virus hit an all-time high, and some experts are urging increased safety measures to protect vulnerable kids.<\/p>
As of Saturday, August 14, there were 1,902 pediatric COVID-19<\/a> hospitalizations, according to a report by Reuters. Cases of the virus in kids have continued to increase exponentially over the past few weeks, with over 121,000 new child COVID cases<\/a> added from August 5-12, and nearly 94,000 child cases<\/a> added during the final week of July. Throughout the pandemic, children have represented about 14% of total accumulated COVID cases. As of August 12, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports children account for 18% of reported weekly cases.<\/p> The rise in pediatric COVID cases comes just as a new school year<\/a> is beginning, and some school districts have done away with mask mandates<\/a>. During the 2020-2021 school year, the data showed schools were not a major source of COVID transmission. A study in January 2021 found more than 70% of child COVID cases came from transmission at home<\/a> versus in the classroom; however, masks and other safety protocols may have played a role in limiting the number of infections in schools. It’s not clear yet how this year’s changes will impact the overall number of cases in kids.<\/p> A group of scientists at North Carolina State University modeled what could happen in schools as COVID continues to spread and how mask mandates and regular testing might make a difference. Without masks or regular testing, their model estimates<\/a> up to 90% of susceptible students could become infected with COVID-19 by the end of the semester. High rates of COVID infections in children could result in more quarantines and school closures, which is already happening in some states. <\/p>How serious are the risks for kids?<\/h2>