(NEW YORK) — For the second consecutive week, new COVID-19 infection rates among children in the U.S. have seen a notable increase, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA).

Last week, 37,000 additional child COVID-19 cases were reported, an increase of about 43% from two weeks ago. The jump in infections follows weeks of steady declines, and marks the first increase since January.

Overall, numbers remain significantly lower than during other surges of the pandemic. However, many Americans, who are taking at-home tests, are not submitting their results to their local public health authorities. Thus, health experts said that daily case totals are likely significantly higher than the numbers officially reported and tallied.

In the Northeast, infection rates are at their highest level in eight weeks, while the Midwest is reporting its highest proportion of new cases since the end of February.

A total of 12.9 million children have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic, and children represent about a fifth of all reported cases on record.

Nationally, pediatric virus-related hospital admissions have also seen their first increase in three months — up by 5% in the last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

However, AAP and CHA report that a small percentage of pediatric cases have resulted in hospitalization and death.

According to the nearly two dozen states, which reported pediatric hospitalizations, 0.1%-1.5% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in hospitalization. ​Similarly, in states which reported virus-related deaths by age, 0.00%-0.27% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death.

Even so, health experts stress that any uptick in severe illness among children is concerning.

The increases in pediatric COVID cases are renewing calls for children to be inoculated against COVID-19. Although the COVID-19 has been authorized under emergency use for all children over the age of 5 for nearly six months, tens of millions of children remain completely unvaccinated.

At this time, just under 26 million children, over the age of 5 — about half of those eligible — remain completely unvaccinated, and overall, just 43.1% of eligible children have been fully vaccinated.

Many parents of young children have also been vocalizing their frustration over the delayed rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of five.

Top Biden administration officials said those shots could be available as early as June.

Both Moderna or Pfizer have yet to fully submit their vaccine data to the Food and Drug Administration, the agency said last week, but Moderna, which has a two-dose vaccine for children under five, is expected to officially file a request for authorization by the end of the month, a spokesperson for the company confirmed.

Pfizer, which has been conducting clinical trials on a three-dose vaccine for kids under five, is expected to have results by early May, is projecting an authorization of its three-dose vaccine sometime in June, according to the company’s CEO, Albert Bourla.

“I am frustrated on their behalf,” White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha told CNN’s “State of the Union,” said, in reference to some of his friends, who are frustrated that vaccines for young children have yet to be authorized.

It’s “very hard to prejudge a specific date and time” as to when these vaccines will become available, Jha said, adding that he expects the shots to be available in the “next couple months.”

AAP and CHA noted 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.

“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 organizations wrote.

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(WASHINGTON) — The Federal Aviation Administration said Monday it will investigate a plane crash in Arizona on Sunday during a Red Bull-sponsored stunt.

The pilots of two planes attempted to swap places mid-flight, leaving both aircraft unmanned for a period of time, and one of the planes crashed, although both pilots were unharmed.

The FAA said it rejected a waiver of laws requiring pilots to man their planes at all times, according to a denial later from the FAA dated Friday — days ahead of Sunday’s crash.

The pilots, Luke Aikens and Andy Farrington, applied for the waiver saying that the event was in the “public interest” as it was meant to raise awareness for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields and encourage students to pursue careers in STEM.

In its rejection letter, the FAA said that “would not be in the public interest and cannot find that the proposed operation would not adversely affect safety.”

The event was live-streamed on the online streaming platform Hulu.

The stunt was planned to have each of the pilots fly their aircraft to 14,000 feet, and then put their planes in vertical dives.

At the same time, the pilots were supposed to jump out of of the respective planes and attempt to swap seats in mid-air.

The pilots, who are also cousins, have planned the swap for a year, according to Red Bull. According to Red Bull, the planes were placed on autopilot and the engines were turned off in midair while the pilots attempted the swap.

In their request to the FAA, the pilots said they were both held commercial pilots’ licenses and had “conducted over 20,000 skydives” and performed more than 100 dive test flights without incident.

Despite the plan and the specially equipped planes, one of the planes crashed during the stunt Sunday prompting federal investigation.

“One of the two single-engine Cessna 182 aircraft used in the stunt crashed after it spun out of control,” the FAA said in a statement Monday. “The pilot landed safely by parachute. The other pilot regained control of the second aircraft and landed safely.”

Red Bull did not immediately respond to an ABC News request for comment.

The National Transportation Safety Board also has opened an investigation into the crash and expects to have a preliminary report in the next few weeks.

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(CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wisc.) — A hunt for a killer is underway in Wisconsin after a 10-year-old girl was found dead — and the police chief is warning residents to be vigilant.

Lily Peters, a fourth grader, was reported missing by her father on Sunday night, said police in Chippewa Falls, a city about 100 miles east of Minneapolis.

Lily had been at her aunt’s house on Sunday and never made it home that night, police said.

On Sunday night officers found Lily’s bike in the woods by a walking trail near her aunt’s house, police said.

Around 9:15 a.m. Monday, Lily’s body was found in a wooded area near the walking trail, Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said at a news conference.

Kelm said police are considering this a homicide investigation.

No one is in custody, Kelm said, adding that police are following up on leads.

“We encourage anyone with information to please contact the Chippewa Falls police department — and maintain a state of vigilance as there may be a danger to the public,” Kelm said.

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