A new study shows that almost 72,000 children and teens got COVID-19 nationwide last week, a number that's been on the rise, according to experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Some medical experts say the jump in cases among kids comes from the highly contagious delta variant.

As children prepare to go back to school next month, many parents of kids over the age of 12 are considering whether to have their child get the vaccine, which has been approved for emergency use for the age group.

Doctors say hospitalizations and deaths among the age group remain low, and recovery time is short.

"What we have seen in the last few months is that children are having more COVID-19 infections than in the past, particularly though among unvaccinated populations in those states where the vaccination rates among children is quite low. Despite that, the number of hospitalizations and mortalities still remains low amongst children," said Dr. Ramon Gist of SUNY Downstate.

There have also been reported cases of myocarditis in kids after the vaccine, which is inflammation of the heart muscle. Dr. Gist says almost all the cases have been very mild and resolved quickly.

"To completely eradicate the pandemic, we have to have younger adults, teenagers, and children get vaccinated. I don't know if the audience is aware, but children 5-11 are now being studied by Pfizer and Moderna for extension of that emergency use authorization for vaccines. So hopefully, when those studies are done safely and appropriately, we can start to vaccinate younger children to protect those of us in the population who are vulnerable to COVID-19," Dr. Gist said.