Black children with COVID-19 were more likely to become severely ill, be hospitalized or die during the pandemic than white children, according to a newly released study from Morehouse School of Medicine.
Morehouse School of Medicine researchers conducted the two-year study with a group that included other historically Black medical schools.
Examining data from the pandemic period between April 2020 and June 2021, they found Black children were more than two-and-a-half times as likely to lose a parent or other caregiver to the virus compared to white children.
The study also found Black children were more likely to live in a home experiencing pandemic-driven financial hardships — 31% compared to 16% of white households with kids and 29% of Latino households with kids.
Researchers found these disparities were partly linked to inequalities that existed before the pandemic hit, such as poverty and obstacles in accessing medical care.
