MASSACHUSETTS — As families and school districts struggle with whether to send children back to the classroom, people are looking to whatever available data they can find to help inform their last-minute decisions.
One of the reports to garner attention this week is one from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. It shows a 40 percent increase in pediatric coronavirus cases nationwide in the last two weeks of July, with nearly 100,000 testing positive in that time.
The latest public health data in Massachusetts shows more than 7,600 people under 20 having been diagnosed with COVID-19, making up nearly 6 percent of the state’s confirmed cases to date.
According to the national report, pediatric cases made up a lower percentage of a state’s total in only four states and New York City as of July 30. Since not all states have the same age range for children as Massachusetts (0-19), it’s not a perfect comparison. For instance, Utah’s data is for people 0-14 while Alabama’s is 0-25.
Overall, children made up about 9 percent of all cases in the country as of the end of July.Subscribe
The rate of pediatric cases in Massachusetts is at 474 per 100,000, almost exactly the national rate as of July 30.
None of the 8,519 deaths related to COVID-19 in Massachusetts have been children. There were 86 such deaths across the country in the national report, including three in New England — one in Maine and two in Connecticut.
Massachusetts has had 122 hospitalizations of people 0-19 due to COVID-19.
It’s still not known what sort of long-term complications children can get as a result from COVID-19.
The national report comes at the 11th hour for Massachusetts school districts, which must submit finals plans for returning to learning by the end of the week.
Some parents are pushing for a widespread in-person return to class, while others are joining a vocal group of educators — including the Massachusetts Teachers Association — in calling for a fully remote start to the school year, which starts in about a month.
Gov. Charlie Baker has said the science and data do not support a fully remote start to school.
PEABODY, PATCH
