While far less than the elderly, many youngsters died from Covid.
Based on the best available U.S. mortality data,
about 1,300 children under age 10 died from COVID‑19 in the United States from 2020 through early 2024. This figure comes from CDC National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) age‑stratified death‑certificate data, which break out deaths in the 0–1, 1–4, and 5–14 age brackets. Summing the 0–1 and 1–4 groups and the 5–9 portion of the 5–14 group yields
≈1,300 deaths.
This aligns with the global UNICEF estimate that
47% of all COVID‑19 deaths among people under 20 occurred in ages 0–9 .
How we know this
The CDC does not publish a single “0–9” line item, but it
does publish:
- Infant deaths (0–1)
- Deaths ages 1–4
- Deaths ages 5–14
By isolating the 5–9 portion of the 5–14 bracket (which is roughly half of that group’s deaths), and adding the younger groups, the total consistently lands near
1,250–1,350, depending on the exact cutoff date.
UNICEF’s global analysis confirms that nearly half of all under‑20 COVID deaths worldwide occurred in the 0–9 group, reinforcing that this age band—while low‑risk compared to adults—did experience measurable mortality.
Context
- COVID‑19 deaths in children are rare relative to adults.
- Infants (<1 year) have the highest risk within the under‑10 group.
- Most pediatric deaths occurred in children with underlying medical conditions, though not all.(A U.S. review of child deaths found that 68% of children ages 1–17 who died had at least one chronic condition. )