New Report: Racial Disparities Exist Among Children Due to COVID-19

Posted by Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity on October 5, 2021

A recent analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation examined how COVID-19 has disproportionately affected Black, Hispanic, Asian, American Indian and Alaska Natives (AIAN) as well as Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islander children 19 and younger compared to white children. Although children of color had lower rates of testing, they were more likely to test positive for COVID-19. Researchers also found that the risks of exposure were higher for children of color as they were more likely to live in population-dense areas with larger household sizes and more members in the household with essential jobs who could not work from home. Of the 4.9 million infections, over 39,000 hospitalizations, and 725 deaths recorded due to COVID-19 nationwide, AIAN and Black children, as of August 31, were 3.5 and 2.7 times more likely to die from the virus than white children, respectively. The study also found that Black and Hispanic students experienced learning loss and fell behind academically due to the lack of access to remote learning and high-speed internet.

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