On August 26, 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its "Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report," which summarized publicly reported data on children and the coronavirus in 49 states – Washington being one of them. The AAP is an organization of about 67,000 pediatricians who are dedicated to the health and well-being of all children in the United States.
The data for the report was taken by most states and included responses from New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam. The age range for the reports on child COVID cases varied from state to state: some ranges were 0-14 while others were 0-17, 0-18, 0-19, or 0-20 years. The age range for Washington was 0-19 years.
According to the report, as of August 26, 2021, over 4.8 million children living in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. For the week ending on July 22, 2021, officials saw 38,000 new reported coronavirus cases in children. That jumped to 204,000 new cases during the week ending on August 26, 2021 – 22.4% of reported weekly COVID-19 cases.
Although hospitalization and death from the coronavirus is uncommon in children, there's no doubt that the youth are contracting the virus at greater rates than previously. The report acknowledges how severe COVID in children is uncommon; however, it also mentions how long-term data on the physical health, emotional well-being, and mental health of youth still needs to be collected and examined.
Out of 24 states (including NYC), 0.1–1.9% of COVID-19 cases in children resulted in hospitalization, and among 44 states (including NYC, Puerto Rico, and Guam) 0.00–0.03% of all COVID-19 cases in children resulted in death. There were seven states that reported zero child mortality from the virus.
Child vaccination rates in the United States
There are 72.8 million children living in the United States, about 22% of the population. Those who are under the age of 12 (about 14.5% of the population) are not yet authorized to receive a COVID-19 vaccine – which remains the most effective tool for protection against the virus, specifically from having severe COVID-19-related health outcomes.
During the pandemic, the AAP has been tracking the rates of vaccination in children under the age of 18 in the US. As of August 25, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 11.7 million youth have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, out of which 8.8 million are fully vaccinated.
For those who have received at least one dose of a vaccine, 56% are aged 16–17, while 48% are aged 12–15. Out of those who are fully vaccinated, 45% are 16–17 years old, while 35% are 12–15 years old.
Child vaccination rates in the US remain inconsistent across states. According to the AAP, there are nine states where over 60% of 12–17-year-olds have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine; on the other hand, there are 14 states where 40% or fewer have received one vaccination dose.
A closer look at Washington
For the past year, over 90% of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths occurred in those who were not fully vaccinated. As of August 25, 2021, the Washington Department of Health (DOH) reported that 39% of 12–17-year-olds were fully vaccinated, while 61% are not yet fully vaccinated.
For Washingtonians aged 12 to 17 years, 0.7% of COVID-19 cases occurred in those who were fully vaccinated from February to July of 2021, whereas 99.3% of cases occurred in those who were not fully vaccinated.
Regarding hospitalizations within this age group, 1.1% of fully vaccinated children were hospitalized from February to July of 2021, while 98.9% of hospitalizations were reported in those not fully vaccinated.
Long story short: get your children fully vaccinated as soon as they become eligible and as soon as possible. We're not out of the woods yet, and the bell has been ringing for months now: vaccines save lives, and they may very well prevent your child from getting rushed to an emergency room.
Until then, keep masking yourself and your little ones while in indoor public settings, and sing a happy song while you vigorously wash those germs off your hands!