US reports show racial disparities in kids with COVID-19

By MIKE STOBBE AP Medical Writer
NEW YORK (AP) — Two new sobering government reports show racial disparities in the the U.S. coronavirus epidemic extend to children. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the reports Friday. One looked at hospitalizations of children with COVID-19. Hispanic children were hospitalized at a rate eight times higher than white kids. Black children were hospitalized at a rate five times higher. The second report examined cases of a rare virus-associated syndrome in kids. Nearly three-quarters of the children with the syndrome were either Hispanic or Black. That’s well above their representation in the general population.