A two-year study conducted by the Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) at Morehouse School of Medicine found Black children had 2.7 times the deaths of white children with COVID-19, double the hospitalizations and, along with Hispanic children, higher incidences of severe cases.
“Children with COVID-19 in communities of color were sicker, hospitalized and died at higher rates than white children,” said Sandra Harris-Hooker, PhD, Senior Vice President for External Affairs and Innovation, Interim Executive Director, Satcher Health Leadership Institute, Morehouse School of Medicine.
The study found that the disparate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Black and other children of color was driven by social and political determinants of health. The effect of the pandemic itself goes beyond the disparities in cases, deaths and hospitalizations, extending to the educational attainment, socio-economic status and family life of the Black child and other children of color.
Between April 2020 and June 2021, one in 310 Black children lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19 compared to one in 738 white children In addition, the research found that 31 percent of Black households and 29 percent of Latino households with children experienced economic and health-related hardships because of the pandemic compared to 16 percent of white households.
Read the full 2022 Black Coalition Against COVID report here.
