COVID-19 Cases Among Children Are Surging; Experts Warn It May Get Worse

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(CNN) — Last week, the fig of Covid-19 cases in children successful the US reached levels not seen since the wintertime surge. And with the instrumentality to school, the Delta variant connected the emergence and this wintertime approaching, wellness officials are acrophobic it could get worse.

After a diminution successful aboriginal summer, kid cases person accrued exponentially — with much than a four-fold summation successful the past month, according to the latest study from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.

From astir 38,000 cases a week adjacent the extremity of July, the week ending August 19 saw much than 180,000 cases successful children, the study said.

The emergence has travel as 48.4% of the colonisation is yet to beryllium afloat vaccinated, according to information from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — and arsenic the regular mean of caller reported cases has climbed to much than 151,000.

Health experts person been peculiarly acrophobic astir cases among children arsenic students instrumentality to school, galore without disguise mandates and without entree to vaccines.

Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine was afloat approved by the US Food and Drug Administration on Monday for Americans 16 and older, which National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Francis Collins told CNN was a “ray of sunshine successful the midst of each these acheronian Covid clouds.”

Moderna announced connected Wednesday it has completed its submission to the FDA for afloat support of its Covid-19 vaccine for radical 18 and older. Moderna said it has requested precedence reappraisal from the agency. Moderna’s vaccine is presently disposable nether exigency usage authorization for radical property 18 and older. The institution began submitting information for support to the FDA successful June.

Still, children nether 16 inactive aren’t afloat approved for a vaccine, and the exigency usage authorizations successful spot lone screen adolescents 12 and older.

Children ages 5 to 11 are the adjacent radical successful enactment to go eligible to person the Covid-19 vaccine, and an updated exigency usage authorization from the FDA would marque astatine slightest 28 cardinal further children — representing astir 9% of the US colonisation — eligible to person the vaccine, according to a CNN investigation of national data.

But the process of authorizing a vaccine for that property radical whitethorn not beryllium completed until the extremity of the calendar year, US Surgeon General, Dr. Vivek Murthy, told CNN’s Brianna Keilar.

The timing is simply a problem, Dr. Paul Offit, a subordinate of the FDA’s vaccines advisory committee, told CNN, due to the fact that the much transmissible Delta variant is spreading and the acold adust upwind of the wintertime months makes it easier for the microorganism to dispersed — each portion children are sitting unneurotic successful classrooms.

“You are going to person a radical of afloat susceptible radical each successful 1 place,” helium told Jake Tapper. “That’s not a bully recipe.”

And though it would beryllium bully to person vaccines for children earlier then, it is important for wellness officials to instrumentality their clip successful making definite the vaccines are tested heavy — and deemed safe.

“We’re moving arsenic rapidly arsenic we can, it’s conscionable not casual to determination that rapidly erstwhile you speech astir doing large vaccine trials,” said Offit.

Schools instrumentality antithetic approaches to rising cases

As cases emergence among children, immoderate schoolhouse leaders are pressing for precautions portion others are banning disguise mandates.

Throughout Florida’s 15 largest schoolhouse districts, astatine slightest 11,851 students and 2,610 employees person tested affirmative for Covid-19, amounting to much than 14,461 confirmed cases since the schoolhouse districts started keeping way of cases for the 2021-22 schoolhouse year, according to a CNN analysis.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has issued an enforcement bid banning schools from instituting disguise mandates, but 8 counties person defied the bid arsenic cases person grown.

South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster besides issued a prohibition connected disguise mandates, prompting a suit from the American Civil Liberties Union, according to a ailment filed Tuesday.

“This is simply a disablement rights issue,” said Susan Mizner, ACLU disablement rights programme director.

“Students with wellness conditions oregon disabilities that marque them susceptible to COVID person a close to be schoolhouse without endangering their wellness oregon safety. Schools who person children with these conditions person ineligible obligations nether national disablement rights laws,” Mizner said successful an ACLU statement.

McMaster’s spokesperson Brian Symmes declined to specifically remark connected the lawsuit, but said, “The lone genuinely inclusive enactment is to let each genitor to determine whether their kid volition deterioration a disguise successful school.”

On the different hand, the Los Angeles Unified School District has implemented beardown mitigation measures and appears to person kept corruption rates nether 1% during the archetypal week of classes.

The schoolhouse district, the second-largest successful the country, enacted the measures passim its much than 1,000 schools.

Teachers and employees are required to beryllium afloat vaccinated by October 15. Masks are required for each students, unit and visitors. The territory besides has a “cohort” exemplary successful place, which aims to support arsenic galore students successful the aforesaid schoolroom and with the aforesaid radical of students arsenic often arsenic possible.

A rigorous and costly investigating inaugural has besides been enactment into place. Every pupil and worker indispensable acquisition escaped play investigating careless of vaccination presumption successful bid to beryllium capable to participate a school.

CDC forecast for adjacent 4 weeks says hospitalizations could stay stable

An ensemble forecast published Wednesday by the CDC projects that caller Covid-19 hospitalizations are apt to stay unchangeable oregon person an uncertain inclination implicit the adjacent 4 weeks.

It’s the archetypal clip since mid-July the forecast did not task an expanding level of hospitalizations.

Wednesday’s forecast predicts determination volition beryllium 7,800 to 27,000 caller confirmed Covid-19 infirmary admissions apt reported connected September 20. Since July 14, the forecasts had projected that hospitalizations would summation each week.

The forecast besides predicts that caller Covid-19 deaths volition apt summation implicit the adjacent 4 weeks, projecting a full of 651,000 to 680,000 deaths reported by September 18. The erstwhile forecast, published August 18, predicted up to 664,000 Covid-19 deaths by September 11.

According to information compiled by Johns Hopkins University, determination person been much than 630,000 Covid-19 deaths successful the United States.

As with erstwhile weeks, the bureau says that its Covid-19 cases forecast should beryllium interpreted with caution since existent numbers person fallen extracurricular the scope of erstwhile predictions.

The CDC’s latest forecast predicts 600,000 to 1.9 cardinal caller cases apt to beryllium reported successful the week ending September 18.

Vaccines little effectual against Delta, but inactive crucial

The dispersed of the Delta variant has impacted vaccine effectiveness, but vaccination is inactive a beardown protector against illness, hospitalization and deaths, reports person found.

According to a survey published Tuesday by the CDC, erstwhile the Delta variant accounted for the bulk of circulating virus, vaccine effectiveness against Covid-19 corruption dropped from 91% to 66%.

“While we did spot a simplification successful the extortion of the Covid-19 vaccine against the Delta variant, it’s inactive two-thirds simplification of risk,” pb writer Ashley Fowlkes, an epidemiologist for CDC Covid-19 Emergency Response, told CNN Tuesday.

But a new survey retired of Los Angeles County reaffirms that afloat vaccinated radical are acold little apt than unvaccinated radical to beryllium hospitalized, admitted to an intensive attraction unit, necessitate mechanical ventilation oregon dice from Covid-19

“On July 25, corruption and hospitalization rates among unvaccinated persons were 4.9 and 29.2 times, respectively, those successful afloat vaccinated persons,” researchers from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health wrote successful the study, which was published Tuesday by the CDC.

“It’s inactive a precise almighty vaccine,” Fowlkes said, particularly erstwhile it comes to much terrible outcomes. “But we are besides looking towards continuing to usage masks for a small spot longer.”

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