The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is out with guidance "to reflect new evidence about COVID-19 in children."
"The number and rate of cases in children in the United States have been steadily increasing from March to July 2020. The true incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children is not known due to lack of widespread testing and the prioritization of testing for adults and those with severe illness," the CDC noted.
While acknowledging America's testing failures, the CDC reported that children comprise 22% of of the population, but only 7.3% of coronavirus cases according the data that has been compiled.
"It is unclear whether children are as susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2 compared with adults and whether they can transmit the virus as effectively as adults. Recent evidence suggests that children likely have the same or higher viral loads in their nasopharynx compared with adults and that children can spread the virus effectively in households and camp settings," the CDC warned.
"Due to community mitigation measures and school closures, transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to and among children may have been reduced in the United States during the pandemic in the spring and early summer of 2020. This may explain the low incidence in children compared with adults. Comparing trends in pediatric infections before and after the return to in-person school and other activities may provide additional understanding about infections in children," the CDC explained.
While children have lower hospitalization rates than adults, those who are admitted are just as likely to end up in intensive care.
"Recent COVID-19 hospitalization surveillance data shows that the rate of hospitalization among children is low (8.0 per 100,000 population) compared with that in adults (164.5 per 100,000 population), but hospitalization rates in children are increasing. While children have lower rates of mechanical ventilation and death than adults, 1 in 3 children hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States were admitted to the intensive care unit, which is the same in adults," the CDC noted.
Trump has falsely argued children are "almost immune" to COVID-19.
Trump: Kids are immune The 97,000 kids who tested positive in just the last two weeks of July: 😐 https://t.co/CkjU0YRDZx— The Recount (@The Recount) 1597076826.0
Read the full guidance.
