COVID-19 hits children as school year gets underway

As the 2021-22 school year is now underway, Pennsylvania is seeing a spike in COVID-19 infections among children under age 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Some of the increase, the CDC reported, is attributable to the more contagious delta variant of the virus, which has been affecting kids more frequently than other COVID-19 variants.
More than 23,000 cases were reported in Pennsylvania in those under the age of 18 between Aug. 16 and Sept. 15, according to the Department of Health. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported 214,919 cases in Pennsylvania children since the beginning of the pandemic, which amounted to an average of a few thousand each week.
Last month, from Sept. 3 to Sept. 9, 6,216 pediatric cases were reported across the state, officials said. That’s about 30% of the total number of cases in Pennsylvania during the same period.

In addition to the delta variant, the fact that children under the age of 12 cannot yet be vaccinated is thought to be contributing to the rise in cases.
“Children under the age of 12 simply don’t have the choice,” said Dr. Trudy Hecker, a pediatrician with Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, during a press conference. “So, it falls on us to protect them.”
A vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 is expected this year, possibly by Halloween, health officials have said.

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