Study Suggests At Least 5.2 Million Children Have Lost Their Parents Or Guardians To COVID-19

A study says at least 5.2 million children have lost their parents or guardian to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been relentless in its taking of lives around the world. Many of us have lost family members and friends to the virus that continues to spread and evolve into different variants. On Thursday, the medical journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health analyzed data from 21 counties starting from the beginning of the pandemic in March 2020 to October 2021 and estimated the number of children who lost their parent or guardian Coronavirus.

That number has since grown by 90 percent, CNN Health reports. As of January, the number of kids who have lost their parents is now 6.7 million.

“We estimate that for every person reported to have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, one child is left orphaned or loses a caregiver. That is the equivalent of one child every six seconds facing a heightened risk of lifelong adversity unless given appropriate support in time,” lead author Dr. Susan Hillis, who worked on this study while at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a statement. “Support for orphaned children must be immediately integrated into every national COVID-19 response plan.”

The numbers could be higher as some countries don’t have the most proficient reporting systems. In the meantime, health officials say the best course of action is what has been suggested the entire pandemic, social distance, get vaccinated and get tested.