Washington, Jun 28 (IANS): Nearly 330,000 child Covid-19 cases were reported in the US in the past one month, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

Nearly 68,000 child cases were reported for the week ending June 23, far higher than one year ago, the week of June 24, 2021, when 8,400 infections were registered, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

Approximately 5.8 million child Covid-19 cases had been added in the US this year, according to the report.

Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, some 13.6 million children in the US have tested positive for the virus.

There is an urgent need to collect more age-specific data to assess the severity of illness related to new variants as well as potential longer-term effects, said the AAP.

"It is important to recognize there are immediate effects of the pandemic on children's health, but importantly we need to identify and address the long-lasting impacts on the physical, mental, and social well-being of this generation of children and youth," the Academy added.