1; Stella O. Chuke, MBBS1; Kelly Dyke1; Kimball Credle1; Carolina Lecours, MPH1; Kathryn B. Egan, PhD1; Monica Leonard, MPH1 (View author affiliations)Lead can affect a young child’s ability to learn and cause other adverse health effects; no safe blood lead level (BLL) is known.
Routine testing can detect elevated BLLs.During January–May 2020, 34% fewer U.S. children had BLL testing compared with those during January–May 2019, with an estimated 9,603 children with elevated BLLs missed.
All 34 reporting jurisdictions reported that fewer children were tested following the COVID-19 national emergency declaration in March.COVID-19 has adversely affected identification of children with elevated BLLs, exposure elimination, and linkage to.