A new report from the United Hospital Fund and Boston Consulting Group foundthat Black children in New York are facing the brunt of the state’s high COVID-19death toll.
The study looked at the death toll between March and July, discovering that 4,200 children in New York State lost a parent to COVID-19 and another 325,000 children were part of families that have been pushed into poverty because of the economic calamity that resulted from the pandemic.
But when researchers drilled down into the numbers, they saw that the numbers for Black children stood out.
“There are wide racial/ethnic disparities in the rate of parental/caregiver deaths from COVID-19 due to vast structural inequities that led to communities of color disproportionately being exposed to the virus,” the report said.
VP Candidate Kamala Harris Gets Comic Book Makeover / LOOK
“Black and Hispanic children were disproportionately burdened, with 1 per 600 Black children and 1 per 700 Hispanic children affected, compared to 1 per 1,400 Asian children and 1 per 1,500 white children,” the report added.
Overall, one out of every 1,000 children in New York suffered a parental or caregiver deaths from COVID-19, but 57% of these deaths occurred in three New York City boroughs: The Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens.
The numbers align with COVID-19 death toll figures which show the boroughs with the largest number of Black people suffered the most from the pandemic yet were some of the last to receive widespread testing and more healthcare funding at the height of New York’s battle against the virus.
“This pandemic is like nothing we’ve ever seen before. The closest comparison in the state would be 9/11, when more than 3,000 children lost a parent,” Suzanne Brundage, co-author of the report, said in a statement.
Recent Comments