The US is not alone. Covid-19 infections amongst kids and adolescents within the Americas — together with the US and Canada — have reached over 1.9 million, Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Well being Group, stated on Wednesday.
There have been greater than 1.5 million Covid-19 instances amongst kids and adolescents reported within the Americas all of final 12 months.
Within the US, some state officers are sounding the alarm:
Within the final 60 days, about 60% of all Covid-19 in Georgia occurred in Okay-12 faculties — a few sevenfold improve, state epidemiologist Dr. Cherie Drenzek stated throughout a Division of Public Well being board assembly Tuesday.
“Probably the most important epidemiologic development that we now have seen, that was a lot totally different than earlier waves of this pandemic, is the large affect that we now have seen on school-aged kids,” she stated.
That affect crosses all surveillance indicators, together with new instances, hospitalizations and deaths, based on Drenzek.
Georgia is presently averaging practically 7,000 new instances every day — roughly a tenfold improve from July, based on information from Johns Hopkins College.
Georgia ranks close to the underside within the US in vaccination charges, with 43% absolutely vaccinated, based on the CDC.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and the Ohio Youngsters’s Hospital Affiliation this week urged college superintendents to require masks for workers and college students.
“If we would like our faculties to remain open, one of the simplest ways to try this is for these 12 and over to get vaccinated,” he stated throughout a digital assembly with superintendents. “However as a result of these beneath 12 are nonetheless too younger to be vaccinated, we’d like college students who come into college to put on a masks till we get via this.”
Simply over 54% of the state’s public college college students are beneath a masks requirement.
“Cheap folks might disagree about rather a lot, however we will all agree that we should maintain our youngsters within the classroom so they do not fall behind and so their dad and mom can go to work and never take break day to observe their children at dwelling,” DeWine stated.
Since August 15, there have been 29,823 kids — ages 5 to 17 — with confirmed or possible instances of Covid-19 within the state, based on an announcement from the governor’s workplace.
Prior to now week, Ohio noticed a 44% improve in instances amongst school-aged kids, in comparison with a 17% bounce in the remainder of the inhabitants.
The assertion stated college districts the place masks are non-compulsory have seen a 54% week-over-week improve in instances, in comparison with a 34% spike in districts with masks necessities.
“This can be a excellent storm, and it is impacting children prefer it hasn’t earlier than,” Nick Lashutka, president and CEO of the Ohio Youngsters’s Hospital Affiliation stated within the assertion.
Pennsylvania has 10 instances as many Covid-19 instances in school-aged kids because it did at the moment final 12 months — when the state was doing distant studying, based on Alison Beam, the appearing well being secretary.
Between September 4 and September 10 final 12 months, there have been 574 Covid-19 instances in kids aged 5 to 18 in Pennsylvania, based on the Division of Well being.
Throughout the identical time interval in 2021, there have been 5,371 instances in the identical age group.
“When you have a look at the research that we on the (Nationwide Institutes of Well being) are doing in collaboration with the pharmaceutical corporations, there shall be sufficient information to use for an emergency use authorization each by Pfizer, a little bit bit later by Moderna,” Fauci informed CNN.
“I consider each of them — with Pfizer first — will very possible have the ability to have a state of affairs the place we’ll have the ability to vaccinate kids,” he added. “If the FDA judges the information enough sufficient, we may do it by the autumn.”
Faculty re-openings with out correct masking have possible contributed to the rise in instances amongst kids, based on Fauci.
“Once you get a extremely transmissible virus that is going across the neighborhood, you are going to see much more kids get contaminated,” he stated.
However masks mandates in faculties stay controversial.
In New York, two Lengthy Island public college districts are suing the governor and state well being commissioner over a statewide college masks mandate imposed forward of the college 12 months.
CNN’s Madeline Holcombe, Holly Yan, Christina Maxouris and Jen Christensen contributed to this report.