A preprint published in September 2022 reveals the horrifying toll of Covid-19 on kids in the US.
Using publicly available data from CDC WONDER on NCHS’s 113 Selected Causes of Death, and comparing to mortality in 2019, the immediate pre-pandemic period, we find that Covid-19 mortality is among the 10 leading causes of death in CYP aged 0-19 years in the US, ranking 8th among all causes of deaths, 5th in disease-related causes of deaths (excluding accidents, assault and suicide), and 1st in deaths caused by infectious or respiratory diseases. Covid-19 deaths constitute 2.3% of the 10 leading causes of death in this age group.
Covid-19 caused substantially more deaths in CYP than major vaccine-preventable diseases did historically in the period before vaccines became available.
