New CDC Report Looks at Research on Coronavirus and Children in the US
The latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), a scientific publication that operates under the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), looked at research on how coronavirus is affecting children.
Among the 149,082 reported, lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States that included age as a metric, 2,572 (or 1.7%) were among children under 18 years old, according to their findings. The median age of children in the U.S. with COVID-19 was 11 years old.
The research also found that pediatric patients were less likely than adult patients to experience the three primary signs of COVID-19 (fever, cough and shortness of breath). Specifically, 73% of pediatric patients experienced fever, cough or shortness of breath, compared to 93% of adults between the ages of 18 and 64.
Of the pediatric cases, three deaths were reported. While most COVID-19 cases in children were reported as not being severe and relatively few pediatric patients were hospitalized, it's important to note that serious cases that require hospitalization can still happen in those under 18 years old.