More children dying from COVID in Brazil

CHILDREN are dying from COVID in Brazil at alarming rates, with actual figures believed to be much higher than the country’s official toll.

As the country passed more than 516,000 COVID-related deaths this week, a study has revealed that the number of children believed to have died from the virus could be twice as high as what has been reported.

Brazil’s Ministry of Health has reported 1122 coronavirus deaths in children aged under 10 since the pandemic began, but US-based not-for-profit health group Vital Strategies believes the figure could be closer to 3000 deaths, CNN has reported.

More than 1000 children are believed to have lost their lives to COVID this year alone. The number of children dying from the virus is 10 times higher than what is being reported in other countries around the world, causing extreme concern among health authorities.

Worryingly, Brazil has recorded a spike in deaths among children from respiratory-related illnesses since the pandemic, compared with figures from these illnesses in 2018 and 2019, with an excess of 2975 deaths believed to be from COVID-related syndrome. Researchers say the respiratory syndrome, which causes inflammation of the vital organs, is an extreme immune response to covid and commonly affects babies. As the country continues to battle the deadly health crisis, experts believe many Brazilian children are going undiagnosed or are arriving at hospital too late, with some doctors reluctant to test for the virus in children.