Nearly 40,000 kids have lost a parent to COVID. The ripple effect will be "traumatic," pediatrician warns

Nearly 40,000 children in the United States have lost at least one parent to COVID-19, according to a sobering new report published in the JAMA Network Monday.

The model projects that 37,300 children were affected by a parent's death from COVID-19 by February 2021, but as many as 43,000 could be affected by a parent's death related to the pandemic. The number does not account for children who lost more than one parent or children who lost a non-parental primary caregiver. As the rate of vaccinations speeds up across the country, some states like Texas and Mississippi are relaxing their pandemic restrictions, against the urging of health officials. Hospitals in Michigan are once again experiencing an overflow of patients as rising coronavirus cases among young people have led to another surge in the state.