* Abbreviation: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 In this issue of Pediatrics , Sisk et al1 used state and territory health department data to describe temporal and geographic trends… Click to show full abstract
* Abbreviation: COVID-19 — : coronavirus disease 2019 In this issue of Pediatrics , Sisk et al1 used state and territory health department data to describe temporal and geographic trends in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) among children over a 4-month period. The authors found that in the latter half of the study period, the proportion of cases identified in children increased threefold to fourfold from the start of the study period. We were struck by several features of this report, which we feel have implications for COVID-19 surveillance. First, there was substantial heterogeneity across the data sources aggregated regarding definitions (including the chronological definition of a child) and the data reported. There was also variation across surveillance methods regarding which tests were used and reported. For example, Texas only reports confirmed cases, defined by polymerase chain reaction, and does not report rapid antigen tests, which define a probable case,2 … Address correspondence to Andrea T. Cruz, MD, MPH, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, 6621 Fannin St, Suite A2210, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail: acruz{at}bcm.edu
               
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