Over 14 million children in the United States have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the latest report by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and the Children's Hospital Association.

Some 92,000 child COVID-19 cases were reported for the week ending July 21, the second consecutive weekly increase of reported cases, according to the report.

"Reported new child cases have decreased substantially since the Omicron peak, at the same time, child cases are far higher than one year ago, July 22, 2021, when 39,000 child cases were reported," said the AAP.

More than 311,000 child COVID-19 cases have been added in the past four weeks in the U.S. and approximately 6.1 million reported cases have been added in 2022.

"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," it added.

The total number of COVID-19 cases in the United States surpassed 90 million last Wednesday, with more than 1 million deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. 

The country remains the nation worst hit by the pandemic, with the world's most cases and deaths.

U.S. COVID-19 caseload reached 50 million on December 13, 2021, crossed 60 million on January 9, 2022, exceeded 70 million on January 21, and surpassed 80 million on March 29. 

(With input from agencies)

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