Kansas child among latest COVID death numbers
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) — The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) reports that a child is among the 128 new deaths listed on its COVID-19 website Wednesday. The state lists deaths by age group. There are rarely deaths in the age groups representing children, but there is one in the 0-9-year-old age group this week.
The KDHE does not release the exact age, gender, or location of COVID-19 deaths. It has not responded to our question about whether this is a recent death or new information about a previous death. Before this, the last time the KDHE reported a child's COVID-19 death was Nov. 10, 2021.
Since the pandemic began, these are the deaths by age group in Kansas:
Age group | Newly reported | Total deaths | Percent of deaths |
0-9 years | 1 | 4 | 0.1% |
10-17 years | 0 | 3 | 0.0% |
18-24 years | 0 | 25 | 0.3% |
25-34 years | 1 | 58 | 0.8% |
35-44 years | 3 | 175 | 2.4% |
45-54 years | 11 | 412 | 5.7% |
55-64 years | 30 | 948 | 13.0% |
65-74 years | 31 | 1,511 | 20.7% |
75-84 years | 29 | 1,931 | 26.5% |
85+ years | 22 | 2,223 | 30.5% |
Total | 128 | 7,290 | 100.0% |
The KDHE data shows most deaths are in the 55 and older age groups. But the percentages in the younger age groups have been climbing. For example, since September, the 25-34 age group increased by 0.1%. The 35-44 age group increased by 0.4%. The 45-54 age group has increased 1%. The 55-64 age group increased 1.3%. And the 65-74 age group increased 0.7%.
However, the two age groups representing the oldest Kansans have seen a drop. The 75-84 age group is down .9%, and the 85+ age group is down 2.8%.
The median age of those who have died went from 79 in September to 77 this week.
The KDHE updates its data every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, except for holidays.