DALLAS — COVID-19 has impacted the family dynamic for children across the world whose caregivers died from the virus.

A recent study from the journal Pediatrics estimates from April 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021, more than 140,000 children in the U.S. experienced the death of a parent or grandparent caregiver. That number is now estimated to have risen to 175,000, according to study authors. The states with the highest numbers of children facing death of primary caregivers are California at 16,179, Texas at 14,135 and New York at 7,175.

The majority of children who have lost a parent or grandparent caregiver to COVID-19 come from racial and ethnic minority groups. Non-Hispanic white children account for 35% of those who lost a primary caregiver, while children of racial and ethnic minorities account for 65% of those who lost a primary caregiver. For reference, white people represent 61% of the total U.S. population, and people of racial and ethnic minorities represent 39%.

According to the study, "1 of every 168 American Indian/Alaska Native children, 1 of every 310 Black children, 1 of every 412 Hispanic children, 1 of every 612 Asian children, and 1 of every 753 White children experienced orphanhood or death of caregivers.”

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