SC has the second-highest rate of child COVID-19 cases in US, report says

South Carolina has the second highest rate of COVID-19 in children as of last Thursday, according to an updated analysis from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

For every 100,000 children in South Carolina, about 14,600 have contracted the coronavirus since he beginning of the pandemic — almost double the national rate of 7,600 COVID-19 positive children per every 100,000.

The only state with a higher rate of cases in children was Tennessee, with 15,225 cases per 100,000 children.

As of last Thursday, 596 children in South Carolina had been hospitalized after contracting the virus since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the report.

The American Academy of Pediatrics started compiling data on children with COVID-19 at the beginning of the month. The reports collect case counts from health departments in 49 states, New York City, Washington, Puerto Rico and Guam.

In each report published since, South Carolina has sat among the top three states of minors with COVID-19.

Cases of COVID-19 among children have increased nationally in recent weeks, reaching high levels in late August and early September, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. In the last week alone, there were almost 207,000 reports of children contracting the virus.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, those ages up to 20 years old made up 23% of all reported COVID-19 cases in the Palmetto State, according to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Since the start of the fall semester, South Carolina schools reported that 35,334 students as of last Wednesday had to be isolated because they had COVID-19.

DHEC maintains that the best way to slow or stop the spread of COVID-19 is for those who are eligible to get vaccinated. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends those 12 and older get the vaccine.

Local vaccine sites can be found at vaxlocator.dhec.sc.gov/