Increasing numbers of children in the US are getting infected with Covid-19 as the Delta variant surges across the country, ringing alarm bells just as schools are set to reopen for a new year.
The American Academy of Paediatrics (AAP) reported on August 5 that nearly 94,000 coronavirus cases among children have been added in one week—what the organisation calls "a continuing substantial increase".
The group says severe illness continues to be "uncommon" but frontline workers in states are seeing children in Covid-19 wards more recently than at any other time in the pandemic—largely because of the highly transmissible Delta variant.
"My concerns are deep and I'm very concerned, and we all know why," Mr Biden said in response to a reporter's question about paediatric coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
For example, Florida has reported nearly 20,000 child cases the last month, the AAP reported.
"We definitely have seen an increase in cases here, in our emergency department and also within the rest of the hospital, in the last two or three weeks," Dr Marcos Mestre, medical director of Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, told AFP.
And in Louisiana, Governor John Bel Edwards last week said: “We have more children sick with Covid-19 than at any other time during the pandemic."
"We heard from hospital leaders," Mr Edwards continued, "the Delta variant is affecting children at a greater rate there than during the surges that we saw previously.”
Those under the age of 12 are currently not eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine in the US, but doctors suggest that getting more adolescents and adults vaccinated will decrease the risk for children.
Just 50 per cent of the total US population is fully vaccinated, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Meanwhile, Pfizer hopes data on vaccines for ages five to 11 will arrive by the end of September.
Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are also studying how their vaccines work in younger populations.
"Look, I understand that there are millions of people who decided — adults — who decided not to get vaccinated. And I understand that to badger those folks is not likely to get them to move and get vaccinated," Mr Biden continued.
"But I also understand that the reason children are becoming infected is because, in most cases, they live in low-vaccination-rate states and communities, and they're getting it from unvaccinated adults. That is what is happening."
Higher risk has largely been concentrated among older and elderly people throughout the pandemic, but recent reports from the New York Times to local ICU hospitals are compelling for more research on Delta variant risk to children.
"I think most areas, we are nearing or exceeding paediatric intensive care capacity," said Mark Wietecha, the CEO of the Children's Hospital Association, told CNN.
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said the agency is investigating whether the Delta variant can cause severe illness in children, prior to a Times piece on severe illness and Long Covid symptoms in young people.
The Biden administration has insisted that US schools open as normally as possible, and the CDC has also recommended that everyone—including teachers, staff, and students—wear face masks no matter their vaccination status.
School districts in Florida and Texas are defying governor orders banning mask mandates for the school year.
California became the first US state to mandate that all teachers get vaccinated or face regular Covid-19 testing with a new announcement by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday.
News agencies contributed to this report.
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UAE cricketers abroad
Sid Jhurani is not the first cricketer from the UAE to go to the UK to try his luck.
Rameez Shahzad Played alongside Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett in Durham while he was studying there. He also played club cricket as an overseas professional, but his time in the UK stunted his UAE career. The batsman went a decade without playing for the national team.
Yodhin Punja The seam bowler was named in the UAE’s extended World Cup squad in 2015 despite being just 15 at the time. He made his senior UAE debut aged 16, and subsequently took up a scholarship at Claremont High School in the south of England.
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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match info
Maratha Arabians 138-2
C Lynn 91*, A Lyth 20, B Laughlin 1-15
Team Abu Dhabi 114-3
L Wright 40*, L Malinga 0-13, M McClenaghan 1-17
Maratha Arabians won by 24 runs
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
MATCH INFO
Al Jazira 3 (O Abdulrahman 43', Kenno 82', Mabkhout 90 4')
Al Ain 1 (Laba 39')
Red cards: Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain)
MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FINAL RECKONING
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Starring: Tom Cruise, Hayley Atwell, Simon Pegg
Rating: 4/5
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
