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(CNN) -
Coronavirus infections have risen "exponentially" among children in the United States and now account for nearly 29% of all reported cases in the country, according to new data released Monday.
The American Academy of Pediatrics reported 243,373 new cases among children in the past week, a slight decrease from the previous week, when 251,781 cases were recorded, the highest number of cases recorded among children during the entire pandemic.
"After declining in the early summer, cases in children have increased exponentially with nearly 500,000 cases in the past two weeks," the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said in a statement.
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The weekly number of cases reported on Monday represents a 240% increase in child cases from the week of July 22 to July 29, when the group accounted for 71,726 cases.
As of September 9, nearly 5.3 million children had tested positive for covid-19.
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Still, children are much less likely than adults to suffer a serious illness or die from COVID-19.
Among the states that report hospitalizations by age, children represent between 1.6% and 4% of patients who were hospitalized.
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Among states that report deaths by age, children accounted for no more than 0.27% of the total.
Seven states have not reported any deaths of children.
As of Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 523 deaths of children under 18 years of age in the United States.
Preteens and teens have the lowest covid-19 vaccination rates compared to any other age group.
Children under the age of 12 cannot yet be vaccinated.
