Watch: Covid doesn’t offer additional resources to children who have been left orphaned due to the covid.

The number of U.S. deaths from covid-19 has exceeded 778,000. Tens of thousands of children are left behind, many orphaned after their grandparents or parents die. In this report, produced in conjunction with PBS NewsHour, KHN correspondent Sarah Varney looks at the risks these grieving children face to their wellbeing in the short and long term. There is no concerted effort from the government to assist the estimated 140,000 children who have lost a parent- or even to identify them.

Betty Hamilton, Eastman, Georgia, adopted her five grandsons aged 4-10 years following the death of their father, who died suddenly in August from covid. Their mom had died in a car accident years before. Without any financial assistance from the government, other than food stamps and Medicaid, she struggles to provide the basics to keep them fed and clothed as they develop.

But for these kids and countless others, the untreated emotional needs are to be the most risky. Experts warn that stressful events could be “biologically embedded” and can leave children economically disadvantaged in the event that they are not addressed.

Content Source: https://www.news-medical.net/news/20211201/Watch-No-extra-resources-for-children-orphaned-by-covid.aspx