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Vaccine scientist and pediatrician Dr. Peter Hotez told “Outnumbered Overtime” Wednesday that infants are proving an exception to the claim that children are unlikely to fall ill as a result of the coronavirus.

Hotez cited a new study by the American Academy of Pediatrics that examined more than 2,000 children in China.

“Infants under the age of 1 year, about 10 percent [of those] are seriously ill or even critically ill," Hotez said. "That’s the concern about that."

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“When you have a lot of transmission going on in a city like New York," the doctor added. "I think that’s a key component of this that may be underlying this."

Hotez said it is imperative that parents should discuss infant vulnerability to coronavirus with an obstetrician and a pediatrician.

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As of Wednesday afternoon, New York state had reported nearly 31,000 coronavirus cases, approximately half of all cases in the U.S. Gov. Andrew Cuomo has said the number of cases could reach its apex in 14 to 21 days.

Fox News Julia Musto contributed to this report.