It has been almost two and a half years since the world shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and 32 months later, the effects are still being felt. A new study now estimates that 10.5 million children worldwide were either orphaned or lost a primary caregiver because of the virus.
The study was published in JAMA pediatrics and looked at excess mortality data from the World Health Organization.
It found that the majority of those children, 7.5 million to be exact, were left orphaned after having their parents or caregivers die from the virus. In addition, 3 million children lost a primary caregiver.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a statement on the study, saying that children who were orphaned or lost a caretaker now face an increased likelihood of abuse, mental health challenges, poverty, and other obstacles.
Researchers who conducted the study are now using it to urge public health officials to take action against what they are calling the lasting impact of grief on kids who lost caregivers.
"Effective, caring action to protect children from immediate and long-term harms of COVID-19 is an investment in the future and a public health imperative," the paper said.
In a letter accompanying the study, lead author Susan Hillis and her fellow researchers noted that "while billions of dollars are invested in preventing COVID-19-associated deaths, little is being done to care for children left behind."
The CDC stressed the need to get vaccinated against the virus, another point researchers are urging officials to address, stating the speed at which a child could become orphaned.
"COVID-19 can lead to death within weeks among unvaccinated populations and under certain medical conditions, leaving families with little time to prepare children for what they might experience when their caregiver(s) die," the CDC wrote.
It is not known the exact number of children who were affected in the U.S., as the study did not break down totals for each individual nation. However, it did note that more children experienced caregiver loss in Africa and Southeast Asia than in Europe and North and South America.
However, the American Academy of Pediatrics did release a study last fall, estimating that 140,000 children in the U.S. would lose a primary or secondary caregiver to COVID-19. That number is now at 209,000.
Johns Hopkins University associate professor of American health Terri Powell shared with USA Today that the disease isn't singular.
"COVID is not just an individual disease, it really is a family disease," Powell said. "They're not just people that died, but parents and caregivers — how do we make sure that there's still a safety net for the kids who are their surviving children?"
Hillis, who was once a CDC epidemiologist, but now works at the University of Oxford, shared that the study's findings were "sobering" and could have lasting impacts in the future if action isn't taken to protect the youngest among us.
"When you have deaths of this magnitude, certainly without help, you can weaken the fabric of a society in the future if you don't take care of the children today," Hillis said.
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