Over 15 mln children in U.S. infected with COVID-19

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Over 15 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

About 114,000 of these cases have been added in the past 4 weeks.

A total of 28,600 child COVID-19 cases were reported in the latest week ending Dec. 1, said the report, adding that reported cases are likely a substantial undercount of COVID-19 cases among children.

There is a need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, said the report.

"It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children's health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," said the AAP.