With child COVID cases becoming a major concern across the U.S., one state is reporting a higher rate of virus cases in children than any other state in the country, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Tennessee recorded 15,225 COVID cases per 100,000 children as of last Thursday. Tennessee beat out South Carolina, which is second with 14,600 virus cases per 100,000 children.

As of Wednesday, child COVID cases represented 26.7% of all infections reported nationwide, the American Academy of Pediatrics website indicated.

Tennessee has double the national average of 7,607 COVID-19 kids testing positive per 100,000 children.

In the last week, the American Academy of Pediatrics data indicated that there were almost 207,000 reports of kids contracting COVID-19.

Children aged 12 and older are eligible to receive the Pfizer COVID vaccine. It is expected that the Pfizer vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 will be authorized by the Food and Drug Administration in October.

The nearly 207,0000 child COVID cases added in the past week mark the fifth consecutive week the U.S. has reported more than 200,000 new virus cases in kids.

On Sunday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 579 children under the age of 18 had died from COVID-19 in the U.S.

A total of 5.7 million children have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Sept. 23, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Child wearing a face mask
Representative image. Marcos Cola/Pixabay
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