The pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on Black and other children of color, leading to higher rates of severe cases, hospitalizations and deaths caused by social and economic factors, a new report finds.
The report was released Monday by the Black Coalition Against COVID in partnership with the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at Morehouse School of Medicine, along with other historically Black medical schools and Black health care organizations. It was inspired by the widespread belief that children were not as susceptible to COVID-19.
Since the pandemic began, children account for over 18% of COVID-19 cases, with more than 14 million positive tests from children. Researchers believe this number is likely to be an undercount because testing was not available for children until May 2020 and they were tested less often than adults because they were believed to be at lower risk for infection.
