Over 14 mn children in US infected with Covid-19

More than 14 million children in the US have tested positive for Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

More than 92,000 child Covid-19 cases were reported for the week ending July 21, the second consecutive weekly increase of reported cases, according to the report.

More than 311,000 child Covid-19 cases have been added in the past four weeks. Nearly 6.1 million reported cases have been added in 2022, Xinhua news agency reported.

There is an urgent need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, said the AAP.

"It is important to recognise there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children's health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impact on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," the AAP added.