Ten Percent of Oregon’s COVID-19 Cases Are Children Under 18

The Oregon Health Authority’s first Pediatric COVID-19 Report, issued July 31, found 26 children have been hospitalized.

A drive-through COVID-19 testing site in East Multnomah County. (Motoya Nakamura / Multnomah County)
By Rachel Monahan

Twenty-six children under the age of 18 have been hospitalized with COVID-19 in Oregon since the pandemic began, but the state has seen only one reported case of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a severe reaction to the virus.

Through July 6, 10.3% of the COVID cases in the state were in children younger than 18.

These figures come from the Oregon Health Authority's first Pediatric COVID-19 Report, issued July 31.

The findings aren't earth-shattering. They reflect that children are currently believed to be at lower risk for severe complications of the disease, but also highlight that the virus is not without risks for young people.

The report comes after Gov. Kate Brown announced criteria that may preclude most schoolchildren in the state from returning to classrooms in person for months. Portland Public Schools, along with other large districts in the state, announced classes would be online only through at least early November.

Case counts have leveled off this week, but the governor decided to order residents of Umatilla County to stay home again after Oregon State University researchers found that an estimated 17% of Hermiston, the county's largest city, has COVID-19.

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