Black and Latino children are more likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 complications than their white counterparts, according to a new study by a federal health agency.
In data released Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that Black children are fives times and Latino, or Hispanic, children are eight times more likely than white children to check into a hospital for the fast-spreading disease. The study examines data collected across 14 states, including New York, Ohio, California and Georgia, between March 1 and July 25.
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According to the report, most pediatric cases of COVID-19, which is caused by the novel coronavirus, are carriers who are either asymptomatic or only experiencing mild symptoms.
However, the conclusion that Black and Latino children have a higher risk of suffering severe symptoms mirrors that of Black and Latino adults. Both groups have disproportionately been affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Accounting for patients under age 18, the rate of COVID-19 related hospitalizations is only eight out of 100,000, compared to adults, which is almost 165 of out 100,000. One-in-three adult patients required placement in an intensive care unit.
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Of the 526 children in the report who disclosed their race, 46% identified as Hispanic and 30% identified as Black. By comparison, 18% of the U.S. population is Hispanic and 13% is Black, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
News of children’s vulnerability to coronavirus is particularly crucial at this time as some states are attempting to reopen schools. The Washington Post reports that, despite epidemiologists warning against physical returns to classrooms, President Donald Trump has insisted that schools all across the nation reopen for in-class instruction, citing strong immune systems in children.
In Greenfield, Ind., a child was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the first day of school at Greenfield-Central Junior High School last week, according to the New York Times.
The school year has also begun for some school districts in the state of Georgia, where a seven-year-old boy recently died of complications of the disease.
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