According to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association, over 62,000 additional child COVID-19 cases were reported in the week ending May 5.

AAP reported an increase of about 69 per cent from two weeks ago; this marks the fourth consecutive weekly increase in reported child cases in the United States.

Nearly 186,000 child COVID-19 cases had been added in the past four weeks and 5.2 million child cases had  been added in 2022, according to the report.

“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,”

“It  is important to recognise that  there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children’s health but importantly, we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental and social well-being of this generation of children and youth,”  AAP said.