Guns, drugs nip progress from medical advances

“Child and teen deaths surged during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by fatal injuries, in a dramatic change after decades of progress from medical advancements in pediatric diseases, according to an editorial published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Researchers analyzed death certificate data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and found pediatric mortality increased by 20% from 2019 to 2021 – the largest increase in 50 years.

For decades, the overall death rate among Americans 19 and younger has been steadily decreasing because of breakthroughs in prevention and treatment for conditions like premature births, pediatric cancer and birth defects, said lead author Dr. Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the Center on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University.”

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/the-arizona-republic/20230319/281633899475934

Read the Jama Article.