Nearly a million new Covid cases were confirmed in children in the week ending 13 January, a 69% increase from the week before

As the Omicron variant rips through the US, children are being infected with Covid-19 in record numbers – yet their rate of vaccination has lagged, creating a surge in hospitalizations and undermining in-person schooling.

Nearly a million new Covid cases – more than 981,000 – were confirmed in children in the week ending 13 January, a 69% increase from the week before and four times higher than last winter’s peak, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. That means one in 10 Covid cases among children in the entire pandemic have happened in the past week, the organization said.

Adult rates have shot up, too, with an average of more than 870,000 confirmed cases a day in the US – but children have much lower vaccination rates. Only 18.8% of kids aged five to 11, and a little more than half of 12- to 17-year-olds, are fully vaccinated, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Read more at the Guardian.