Weekly coronavirus cases among U.S. children have shot up by 240% since late July, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The AAP data said 243,373 new cases among children were logged over the past week, compared to just 71,726 the week of July 22-29, CNN reported.
Despite the substantial case increase, children are still far less likely than adults to become seriously ill or die from the coronavirus. Among states that report hospitalization by age, children constituted 1.6 to 4% of patients who were hospitalized for the virus.
Among states that report deaths by age, children accounted for no more than 0.27% of the deaths, with seven states reporting no child deaths.
However, preteens and teens have the lowest virus vaccination rates of any age group, and almost 5.3 million children have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Sept. 9, CNN reported.