COVID-19 and kids study: About 40,000 U.S. children have lost a parent to virus
Thousands of white flags were planted in Washington, D.C., last year in honor of Americans who have died from COVID-19 complications. Credit: AP/Patrick Semansky
Roughly 40,000 American children have lost a parent to COVID-19, leaving a generation of bereaved youths struggling with grief and requiring long-term support, according to a new report co-authored by a Stony Brook University professor.
In research published by JAMA Pediatrics, Rachel Kidman, an associate professor of family, population and preventive medicine, and three co-authors created a statistical model showing 37,000 to 43,000 children under the age of 18 had lost a parent to the virus as of this February. About three-quarters were between the ages of 10 and 18, the modeling shows, while one-fourth were younger than 10.
"This is only kids that have lost a parent," Kidman said. "Lots of kids live with grandparents, aunts and uncles and different primary caregivers. So this is an underestimate of how many kids have lost their main caregiver."
The data amounts to a child losing a parent for every 13 COVID deaths and a nearly 20% increase in orphaning compared to a typical year. Comparatively, the 9/11 attacks left 3,000 children without a parent.
The research also found that Black children have been disproportionately impacted by pandemic deaths.
The authors estimate that about 20% of the children who have lost a parent are Black, even as they comprise only 14% of the population — mirroring other racial, health and economic disparities that the pandemic has exposed.
The authors stress in their research that "sweeping national reforms are needed to address the health, educational and economic fallout affecting children" who lost a parent due to COVID-19. They suggest the Department of Health and Human Services begin to collect the names of children who have lost a parent or primary caregiver and to connect them to services.
"We have to be sensitive to this acute grief that is happening in a period of unique social isolation and we don't know what their long-term needs will be," Kidman said. "But certainly in the short-term, we really need to respond with appropriate mental health services and grief intervention that has been shown to reduce mental health complications now and in the future for kids."
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that roughly 20% of COVID deaths nationwide have been individuals under the age of 65.
Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.
