Pandemic May Have Created Over A Million New Orphans
The figure comes from a global model built by researchers at Boston Children's Hospital, with "orphaned" meaning losing at least one parent. Separately, a study says 120,000 U.S. kids have lost a primary caregiver to the pandemic. Rising covid and long covid in children are also in the news.
USA Today:
COVID-19 Pandemic May Have Orphaned More Than 1M Kids, Study Says
A recent study reveals another devastating impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on children around the world. Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital estimate more than a million children may have been orphaned because of a COVID-19-related death, according to their model published Tuesday in The Lancet. They defined orphaned as losing at least one parent. The authors estimate 1.13 million children lost a parent or custodial grandparent, and of these, 1.04 million losta mother, father, or both. Overall, 1.56 million children were estimated to have experienced the death of at least one parent or a custodial grandparent, or other grandparent living with them. (Rodriguez, 7/20)
ABC News:
Nearly 120,000 Children In US Have Lost A Primary Caregiver To COVID-19: Internal CDC Data
Since the onset of the pandemic, children in the U.S. have faced multiple challenges and hardships. Tragically, recent data reveals that a staggering number of children have been faced with the most heartbreaking reality: the loss of a caregiver to COVID-19. An estimated 119,000 children across the country have lost a primary caregiver due to COVID-19 associated death, and more than 140,000 children experienced the death of a primary or secondary caregiver, defined as co-residing grandparents or kin, according to data in an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document obtained exclusively by ABC News. (Mitropoulos, 7/20)
In other pediatric news —
CNN:
Covid-19 Child Cases Are Again Rising As Schools Gear Up To Reopen. But Vaccines For The Youngest Are Still Months Away
New Covid-19 cases among children are back on the rise after months of declines, just as schools across the United States are gearing up to reopen in a few weeks. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) said Tuesday more than 23,550 child cases of Covid were reported between July 8 and 15 -- nearly double what was being reported in late June. Child age ranges vary by state, according to the group's most recent report, with more than half of states defining children as anyone 19 or younger, and two states -- Utah and Florida -- limiting the range to anyone 14 or younger. (Maxouris, 7/20)
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Georgia 5-Year-Old Dies After Contracting COVID Amid Coronavirus Surge
Wyatt Gibson waved at strangers in the grocery store because he knew it made them happy. The 5-year-old danced around in tiny cowboy boots, strumming a toy guitar and singing, “I love donkeys and I love dogs.” He enjoyed building things with Legos, visiting the Tennessee Aquarium and helping take care of the horses on his family’s farm in Calhoun. Wyatt died Friday after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, according to his godmother, Amanda Summey, who spoke on behalf of his parents. His death comes amid a surge of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations around the world, much of it driven by the spread of the disease among the unvaccinated and the highly contagious delta variant. No vaccines are authorized for children under 12. (Redmon, 7/20)
Axios:
NIH To Study Long COVID In Kids
Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. and the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Disease are launching a $40 million study to examine long COVID and multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children. While kids have been comparatively unscathed by COVID, this is the largest study of its kind aimed at understanding the long-term impacts COVID can have on children when they do have more serious outcomes. (Reed, 7/20)
NBC News:
Viruses Are Landing Kids In The ICU This Summer, But It's Not All Covid
An unseasonal surge of winter viruses is landing children in the hospital in the middle of summer. The illnesses include severe colds, croup, which causes a severe cough, and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV. The rise worries already overwhelmed doctors as the school year approaches. (Edwards, 7/20)
The Washington Post:
Teens Around The World Are Lonelier Than A Decade Ago. Their Reason May Be Smart Phones
Loneliness among adolescents around the globe has skyrocketed since a decade ago — and it may be tied to smartphone use, a new study finds. In 36 out of 37 countries, feelings of loneliness among teenagers rose sharply between 2012 and 2018, with higher increases among girls, according to a report released Tuesday in the Journal of Adolescence. (Bahrampour, 7/20)
