FILE - In this Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021 file photo, a funeral director arranges flowers on a casket before a service in Tampa, Fla. According to a study published Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, by the medical journal Pediatrics, the number of U.S. children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated, and the toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara, File)
Virus Outbreak COVID Orphans
NEW YORK (AP) — A new study suggests the number of U.S. children orphaned during the COVID-19 pandemic may be larger than previously estimated. The toll has been far greater among Black and Hispanic Americans. The study was published today by the medical journal Pediatrics. It found that more than 120,000 U.S. children lost a parent or grandparent who was a primary provider of financial support and care.
More than half the children who lost a primary caregiver during the pandemic belonged to Black and Hispanic racial groups, which make up about 40% of the U.S. population, according to the study.
The new study’s numbers are based on statistical modeling that used fertility rates, death statistics and household composition data to make estimates.
The new study based its calculation on excess deaths, or deaths above what would be considered typical.
Federal statistics are not yet available on how many U.S. children went into foster care in 2020. Researchers estimate COVID-19 drove a 15% increase in orphaned children.
