As schools across the nation continue to deliberate on how and when schools will be allowed to reopen, the American Academy of Pediatrics has reported over 179,990 new COVID-19 child cases, with an overall 90% increase from July 9 – August 6, 2020.

In California, there are more than 50,000 cases among children and teenagers, representing about 9.5% of total cases, according to data from the California Department of Public Health.

Dr. Annabelle de St. Maurice, co-chief infection prevention officer at UCLA Health, assistant professor of pediatrics in the division of infectious diseases and leader of the Pediatric Infection Control and Antibiotic Stewardship Programs at UCLA, is available to share her expertise on this topic.

Dr. de St. Maurice spent time at the CDC on the Epidemic Intelligence Service where she studied the epidemiology of viral hemorrhagic fevers. Her research and clinical interests are focused on mitigating the spread and severity of infectious diseases through vaccines and infection control practices. She has studied the impact of pneumococcal vaccine on invasive pneumococcal disease rates, risk factors for hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, epidemiology of Rift Valley fever disease, and sequelae of Ebola disease in survivors.