Child COVID-19 cases make up 27 pct of total cases in U.S.: media

A child places a white flag on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the United States, Sept. 18, 2021. More than 660,000 white flags were installed here to honor the lives lost to COVID-19 in the United States. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Children accounted for nearly 27 percent of all cases reported in the United States, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has reported.

While the number of infected children has declined slightly, children made up a greater percentage of the total new U.S. COVID-19 cases in the most recent week over the previous week, the AAP said on Monday.

The United States is seeing a continued surge in new cases, as this was the fifth consecutive week that had added more than 200,000 new cases.

Cases among children had been soaring since the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant became the dominant strain in the United States in July.

Till now, those younger than 12 have not been eligible for vaccination.