The pandemic saw a spike in young children accidentally poisoned by products found at home — including bleach, coin-sized batteries and narcotics, federal officials said in a report out this week.
On average, 31 kids under the age of 5 die of poisoning each year, a figure that has fallen 80% from 1972, when 216 children died, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. But, after decades of falling fatality rates, the past several years have seen a reversal.
After a record low of 17 deaths in 2018, pediatric poisoning fatalities doubled to 34 in 2019, and increased by 26% to 43 deaths in 2020, the agency said Monday, in releasing its annual report on the topic. Narcotics such as opioids accounted for nearly half of the deaths.”The COVID-19 pandemic has led families to spend more time indoors. This increases the risk of…