COVID-19 deaths in Florida higher among minority children

A new federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study shows that Hispanic, Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native children accounted for 78 percent of COVID-19 pediatric deaths. Also, 75 percent of the children who died had at least one underlying medical condition.

The report is based on information that 47 health jurisdictions, including the Florida Department of Health, submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The analysis reviewed 121 deaths, with 12 percent of the cases meeting the definition of MIS-C, or multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children.

Hispanic, Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native children accounted for 78 percent of COVID-19 pediatric deaths.

Ten percent of the pediatric deaths were in infants under age 1. Twenty percent were in children ages 1 to 9. Among the 121 young people who died, 63 percent were male, 45 percent were Hispanic, 29 percent were Black, and 4 percent were American Indian or Alaskan native.

The study also showed that 39 deaths occurred outside of hospital inpatient settings, occurring at home or in hospital emergency departments.

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This article appears in Monsters, Inc..