Of those killed by covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, more than 75 percent have been Hispanic, Black and American Indian children, even though they represent 41 percent of the U.S. population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The federal agency collected data from health departments throughout the country.
The disproportionate deaths among youths echo pandemic disparities well-documented among adults. Previous studies have found the virus’s death toll is twice as high among people of color under age 65 as for White Americans. People of color also disproportionately make up “excess deaths” — those killed by the virus without being diagnosed or those killed indirectly by the virus’s wide effects on the health-care system.
The racial disparities among children are in some ways even more stark.
Of the children and teens killed, 45 percent were Hispanic, 29 Black and 4 percent American Indian. ...
One key factor could be underlying health disparities among minority children and young adults. About 75 percent of those who died had at least one underlying condition, and the most frequent were asthma and obesity — two conditions that disproportionately occur in minority youths. ...
The CDC report emphasized that the relatively low death toll for children was recorded when almost all schools were closed, and that it is unknown how the reopening of schools could affect those rates. ...
