March 13, 2023 – Black children had nearly 3 times as many COVID-related deaths as white children and about twice as many hospitalizations, in line with a new study
According to the study, 1,556 children have died because the starting of the pandemic through November 30, 2022, including 593 children ages 4 or younger. Black children were 2.7 times more more likely to die from COVID-related causes than white children and were 2.2 times more more likely to be hospitalized than white children, the study said.
Lower vaccination rates amongst blacks could also be an element. According to the study, 43.6 percent of white children have received two or more vaccinations, compared with 40.2 percent of black children.
“First and foremost, this study refutes the misconception that COVID-19 has had no impact on children, even though there have been more than 15.5 million reported cases, representing 18 percent of all cases in the United States,” said Dr. Reed Tuckson, board member of the Black Coalition Against COVID and former health commissioner for the District of Columbia, in a press release.
“And second, our research shows that black and other children of color, as well as their adult peers, have borne a greater share of the burden of COVID-19 than the white population.”
The study was commissioned by BCAC and conducted by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine and relies on studies conducted by other institutions over a two-year period.
Severe COVID cases were also more common amongst black and Hispanic children, the study says. Among 281 pediatric patients in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, 23.3 percent of severe cases were black and 51 percent were Hispanic.
According to the study, between April 2020 and June 2012, one in 310 black children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, in comparison with one in 738 white children.
Thirty-one percent of black households, 29 percent of Latino households and 16 percent of white households suffered from economic and health difficulties, the study said.
“Children with COVID-19 in communities of color were sicker at higher rates, were hospitalized at higher rates, and died at higher rates than white children,” Sandra Harris-Hooker, interim executive director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School, said within the press release. “We can now fully understand the devastating impact of the virus on communities of color across generations.”
The study recommends several changes, reminiscent of modifying the admission requirements for the
The Children's Health Insurance Program is designed to assist more children who fall into an insurance gap and expand the kid tax credit.