Millions of children worldwide have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19: "The hidden pandemic"

Two years into the pandemic, an estimated 6.7 million children have lost at least one of their parents or caregivers because of COVID-19, according to updated research, marking a grim milestone in what officials have dubbed "the hidden pandemic." That toll includes more than 180,000 children in the United States.

The figures come from new modeling published in the journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, which estimated figures for orphanhood over the course of the pandemic through October 2021. At that point in time, the study estimated more than 5.2 million children had lost a parent or caregiver to COVID, and the number has continued to grow since then.

In the United States, a "real-time calculator" from the study's authors estimates that more than 180,000 children have lost a parent or caregiver to the pandemic. The American toll ranks above all but two other large countries — India and Mexico — which also recorded heavy losses from deadly waves of the virus.