Back to schools in the US with masks 3:03
(CNN) -
Covid-19 cases among children have risen steadily since early July, according to a report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).
And one expert says this increase is just the beginning of what's to come.
"This is happening before college starts. Schools are opening now," said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
"The Houston Independent School District opens on August 23, that's going to be a huge accelerator. This is just the beginning, unfortunately," he told CNN's Jake Tapper.
More than 121,000 COVID-19 cases in children were reported last week, what the AAP called "a continued substantial increase."
Health experts hoped to get a critical threshold of the population vaccinated against COVID-19 in time to control the spread in the new school year.
But only 50.9% are fully vaccinated and cases are increasing again.
And with the more transmissible delta variant, which now accounts for almost 99% of cases in the US, the situation is becoming especially dangerous for children, according to experts.
Debate on the use of masks in schools ends tense 1:47
They have advocated for children to wear face masks at school, but some governors have tried to ban such requirements.
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"Why tie the hands of public health officials behind their backs? Here they have two weapons. One is vaccines and the other is masks, and for children under 12 that is the only weapon they have", Dr. Paul Offit, a member of the US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) advisory committee on vaccines, told CNN's Erin Burnett.
Hotez said the US is now at a "scandalous level of virus transmission," adding that to truly stop the spread, 80-85% of the population will have to be vaccinated.
Children without vaccines and with masks, this is how schools return in the US
"We know from previous epidemics what that means, the best way to do it is to vaccinate to get out of it in collaboration with the masks," said Hotez.
"We cannot be one or the other. The only way to beat this virus is with both," he added.
Thousands of students are already in quarantine by covid-19
Many schools that have returned to campus are already seeing the impact of the spread of the virus.
More than 3,000 students and employees have been quarantined in the New Orleans Public School District due to COVID-19 cases in the past week, according to the district's latest tally.
They represent 5.89% of the district's students and teachers.
Students returned to the New Orleans Public School District on Aug. 12 and are required to wear masks on school grounds, according to the district.
Conflict over masks
Mask-wearing orders have caused tensions in Florida.
Some schools push to implement them but face Gov. Ron DeSantis's ban on such requirements.
Can masks affect children's abilities?
1:05
Among the 15 largest school districts in the state, at least 3,143 students and 1,371 employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and at least 11,416 other students and staff members have been quarantined or isolated.
The count does not include cases from Florida's two largest school districts - Miami-Dade and Broward - which have not yet returned to school.
Broward County schools begin face-to-face learning on Wednesday and Miami-Dade schools on August 23.
On Tuesday, the Florida State Board of Education unanimously voted to recommend that the Broward and Alachua districts be investigated for their requirement to wear a mask at school.
In Arizona, Gov. Doug Ducey said the state would use federal covid relief money to increase funding available to public school districts only if they are open for face-to-face learning and do not require children to wear masks.
A handful of Arizona districts have imposed mask-wearing mandates despite state law prohibiting them.
They argue that the ban cannot take effect until mid-September at the earliest, making their current mandates legal.
The burden on hospitals "will get worse"
As cases spread, overcrowding in hospitals has also increased.
Florida currently has 16,521 people hospitalized with COVID-19, accounting for 36.1% of all Florida hospital patients, according to an update released by the Florida Hospital Association on Tuesday.
"There is no question that many Florida hospitals are at the limit of their means," said Mary C. Mayhew, president and CEO of the association.
Three-quarters of Florida hospitals anticipate a critical staff shortage in the next seven days, it said in a statement.
Fatigue effect could make it difficult to fight covid-19 1:11
In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said that by the end of the week "we expect to have more Kentuckians in the hospital fighting COVID than at any other time in this pandemic."
He added: "The situation is serious and alarming, and we are rapidly approaching the critical situation."
Southern Kentucky states are rapidly running out of beds and calling state hospitals to ask them to transfer patients from the ICU level of care, said Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Public Health .
"This will cascade and get worse," Stack said.
ANALYSIS |
As the government talks about booster vaccines, it's time to address the endemic reality of covid-19
Booster doses won't kill covid-19, expert says
Health experts have been discussing the possibility of a booster dose to increase protection.
But there is no consensus on when it will be necessary.
The Joe Biden government is expected to discuss data showing that boosters of the covid-19 vaccine may be necessary for the general population about eight months after being fully vaccinated.
The CDC said Tuesday that the need and timing of its implementation has yet to be determined.
And the FDA, in response to CNN, said the agencies are involved in a rigorous process to consider when the reinforcements might be necessary.
"This process takes into account laboratory data, clinical trial data, and cluster data, which may include data from specific pharmaceutical companies, but is not solely based on those data," said spokeswoman Abigail Capobianco.
"We continue to review any new data as it becomes available and will keep the public informed," he added.
They harass him for supporting the use of masks in schools 0:39
Offit told CNN that the process was frustrating.
"You'd like to think data would come first and then recommendation would come second. But right now, we're all guessing what's going on," he admitted.
Scott Hensley, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN that he is skeptical about the importance of boosters at this point in the pandemic.
"If you think that a third dose of the vaccine is going to end the pandemic, you are fooling yourself," he told CNN.
"The way to end this pandemic is to get the vaccine distributed throughout the world," he said.
Andy Slavitt, a former White House adviser on covid-19, said Tuesday that it will make a huge difference if most of the world can be vaccinated in the early part of 2022.
"The way to stop the proliferation of this virus is by vaccinating not only the unvaccinated in the United States, but the unvaccinated throughout the world," he said.
CNN's Mallory Simon, Elizabeth Stuart, Rebekah Riess, Melissa Alonso, and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this report.
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