Lifestyle Health More Than 140,000 Kids in the U.S. Have Lost a Parent or Caregiver to COVID The majority of those children are from racial or ethnic minorities By Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta Julie Mazziotta is the Sports Editor at PEOPLE, covering everything from the NFL to tennis to Simone Biles and Tom Brady. She was previously an Associate Editor for the Health vertical for six years, and prior to joining PEOPLE worked at Health Magazine. When not covering professional athletes, Julie spends her time as a (very) amateur athlete, training for marathons, long bike trips and hikes. People Editorial Guidelines Published on October 7, 2021 11:59AM EDT Juan Duran-Gutierrez and his daughter Aurora, 7, sit at the gravesite of their wife and mother, Aurora Chacon-Esparza, who died of COVID-19 in July 2020. Photo: Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via Getty More than 707,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 in the 19 months since the start of the pandemic, a stunning number on its own. And that total includes thousands of parents, which has led to a somber statistic: More than 140,000 children have now lost a parent or caregiver to the virus. A new study published Thursday in the journal Pediatrics worked to quantify the number of COVID-related deaths of parents or caregivers, estimating that between April 1, 2020 and June 2021, more than 140,000 kids are now without one. And with the rise in cases and deaths from the delta variant, Susan Hillis, an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and lead author of the new study, told NPR that the number is now likely closer to 175,000. "This means that for every four COVID-19 deaths, one child was left behind without a mother, father and/or a grandparent who provided for that child's home needs and nurture — needs such as love, security and daily care," Hillis said. "This number will continue to grow as long as our pandemic deaths increase." 1 in 500 Americans Have Now Died of COVID-19 The children affected are disproportionately from racial or ethnic minorities, the researchers found. American Indian and Alaska Native children were 4.5 times more likely to have lost a caregiver compared to white children, Black children were 2.4 times more likely and Hispanic children two times more likely. "Sixty-five percent of all children experiencing COVID-associated orphanhood or death of their primary caregiver are of racial and ethnic minority," Hillis said. "That is such an extreme disparity." RELATED VIDEO: The Importance of the COVID-19 Vaccine and the Call for 'Unity' Losing a parent at a young age is a tragedy that echoes for "the entire duration of their childhoods," she said. It increases the risk of depression, post-traumatic stress, heart conditions, suicide, sexual abuse and exploitation, the researchers said. "Adverse childhood experiences are associated with increased risks of every major cause of death in adulthood," Hillis said. The researchers are urging the Biden administration to include children who lost a caregiver into their COVID response plans, writing that there is an "immediate need" for help. "We propose adding a new pillar of Emergency Response, 'Care for Children', to support a comprehensive 3-pronged approach — 'prevent, prepare, and protect,' " they said. "The aims of this approach include: prevent COVID19-associated death of caregivers by accelerating equitable access to vaccines; prepare safe and loving family-based care support services; and protect children using evidence-based strategies that address their increased risks of childhood adversity and violence, and strengthen their recovery." As information about the coronavirus pandemic rapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from the CDC, WHO and local public health departments. PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMe to raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, click here.