Could the long-term impact of COVID-19 include fewer births? The Brookings Institute reports the virus may be responsible for a decline of 300,000 to 500,000 births in the United States next year, based on past experience related to public health crises and economic downturns. “The COVID-19 crisis is amounting to much more than a temporary stay-at-home order. It is leading to tremendous economic loss, uncertainty, and insecurity. That is why birth rates will tumble,” authors Melissa Kearney and Phillip Levine state. Their conclusion is based on birth rate data following the Great Recession and the Spanish flu outbreak and other economic theory and data.