Coronavirus COVID-19
At the start of the pandemic, kids made up 2% of new COVID infections. Now, they make up 24%. What happened?
![Portrait of Adrianna Rodriguez](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/presto/2019/10/08/USAT/83e1991d-8dbe-4c93-ad6a-980f6f7ab3ca-1e77c8b7-f32d-42f7-962d-8ae5995a85aa-headshot_resized.jpg?crop=3567,3567,x1732,y0&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
USA TODAY
Children make up a growing share of new coronavirus cases each week as overall infections decline with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, but infection and hospitalization rates among children remain stable.
In March 2020, children accounted for only about 2% of new infections. By the end of May, children made up more than 24% new weekly infections even though they account for only 16% of the population, according to data by the American Academy of Pediatrics.