The number of children contracting COVID-19 in the U.S. is much lower than the record highs set at the start of the new year, but children now account for 22.4% of new coronavirus cases in states that release data by age, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. It’s a statistic that may surprise many: Just one year ago, child COVID-19 cases made up only around 3% of the U.S. total. Perhaps it is because vaccinated parents are taking their unvaccinated kids out with them to public places.
The US has distributed 325 million doses of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and administered 252 million doses. Daily doses administered continues to decrease, down from a high of 3.3 million (April 11) to 2.1 million. Approximately 1.3 million people are achieving fully vaccinated status per day, down from a high of 1.8 million per day on April 12. A total of 149 million individuals have received at least 1 dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, equivalent to 45% of the entire US population and 57% of all adults. Of those, 109 million are fully vaccinated, which corresponds to 33% of the total population and 42% of adults. Among adults aged 65 years and older, progress has largely stalled at 83% with at least 1 dose and 70% fully vaccinated. Experts now believe that the US will not reach “herd immunity.” Failing to achieve herd immunity means we will be living with coronavirus forever, much as we do with colds and influenza. However, as COVID infections continue the virus is mutating and some are exhibiting increased transmissibility or disease severity. To increase protection against these variants, some manufacturers are developing and evaluating booster doses. Moderna published, via press release, positive preliminary results from a Phase 2 clinical trial. The trial involves administering a third dose to fully vaccinated individuals, approximately 6-8 months after their second dose, using either the existing vaccine or a variant-specific version.
CSSE is reporting 32,643,635 positive cases in the U.S. and 580,804 deaths. DOH reported 2,262,598 confirmed cases in Florida Friday, with 35,635 deaths.
