Editor's note: the above originally aired on July 17.
Just over 97,000 U.S. children tested positive for the coronavirus in the last two weeks of July, the American Academy of Pediatrics reports. The 40% jump is likely linked, in part, to the high number of kids being tested before they head back to school.
Out of more than 5 million reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S., 338,000 – or 8.8% -- of them were children.
More than 25 children died of the coronavirus in July, but severe illness, hospitalizations and deaths are rare for kids.
In fact, most don’t have any symptoms. But they can spread it.
That’s the biggest concern for parents, teachers and staff as some schools begin welcoming back students for in-person learning.
Vanderbilt University's Dr. Tina Hartert hopes increased testing of children will help provide a clearer picture of the role they play in transmission, according to CBS News. She is leading a government-funded study that saw DIY testing kits sent to some 2,000 families.
"The kits are shipped to the families, they are taught how to collect these samples, and then the samples are sent back by the families to a central repository," Hartert told CBS.
Notes on the study:
- Only 446 of every 100,000 children tested was positive.
- The age range to be considered a child varies widely from state to state. For some, it’s 14 and under. Others – including Texas – count anyone under 19 as a child.
- It’s 24 and under in Alabama so it’s excluded from some figures.
- Texas reported age distribution for only 8% of all cases, so it’s excluded from some figures.
- The study included 49 states, New York City, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. One state doesn’t track cases by age, so it was excluded.