We remember 2020 as the “bad” year for Covid-19, and this year as the year that better treatments and vaccines meant fewer infections and fewer deaths. That is not the case in some states, we know. But what about Pennsylvania?
Cases among school-age children have risen dramatically here, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Patch, although recent figures are lessening. All of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties, including Bucks County, remain in the high-transmission category, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
Cases in children 5 to18 is nine times greater than in 2020, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. There were only 778 cases in the week of Sept. 29 to Oct. 4 in 2020. In 2021, there were 7,046 cases in the state.
Since August 21, more than 48,000 school-age children in Pennsylvania have been infected. In Bucks County, that number is 1,663 since August 15.
Preschool children are also getting sick. There were 995 Covid-19 cases in infants through age 4 from Oct. 6 through Oct. 12 in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In Bucks County, there were 33. Since August 21, that number is a staggering 8,084 statewide. In Bucks, since a week earlier, there were 270 cases in infants this year.
It seems there should be no question that children need protection from Covid-19 as from any childhood disease. It is not just a bad cold.
