Breaking News – The latest report from the CDC lists at least 1,742 pediatric COVID-19 deaths and 71 MISC deaths. (see below)
You have likely heard that COVID-19 is not supposed to make children sick, so what’s with the reports that kids are dying with COVID-19?
“Whereas most COVID-19 cases in children are not severe, serious COVID-19 illness resulting in hospitalization still occurs in this age group.”
Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020
So far, while only about 16% of cases in the United States have occurred in children and teens who are less than 18 years old, many of those “pediatric COVID-19 cases were hospitalized.”
Some were even admitted to the ICU and tragically, many have died.
That makes it very hard to understand why some folks are still downplaying how COVID is affecting kids.
Are Kids Dying With COVID-19?
How many kids?
So far, as of mid-August, there have been over 6,433,794 COVID-19 deaths worldwide (all ages), including over 1,026,757 deaths in the United States (all ages).
And many of those deaths have been in children, including children who were previously healthy.
It’s important to note that some these recent COVID-19 deaths in children are still being investigated, but according to reports they include:
- a teenager in California who did not have any preexisting conditions (being investigated by the CDC to see if from COVID-19)
a six-week old infant in Connecticut who tested positive forSARS-CoV-2 during postmortem testing– the medical examiner later listed “unsafe sleep in bassinet with soft bedding” as the reason for the baby’s death- a young child (under age 5 years) with underlying health conditions in Hamilton County, Tennessee
an 11-year-old in Georgia– was an adult with an incorrectly reported age…- a 9-month-infant in Chicago
- a 22-week old premature baby whose mother with COVID-19 went into premature labor (in general, the survival rate at 22 weeks is extremely low, improving as you get closer to 24 to 25 weeks)
- a 13-year-old in Colorado who had an underlying seizure disorder
- a 5-year-old in Detroit, Michigan – the daughter of two area first responders
- a teen boy in Washoe County, Nevada who had underlying health conditions
- a teen girl from Will County, Illinois
- a 17-year-old girl in Dallas County, Texas who did not have underlying health conditions
- a child in Yuma County, Arizona with underlying conditions
- a 4-year-old in New Jersey with underlying conditions
- a 12-year-old boy in Cook County, Illinois
- a 15-year-old in Baltimore County, Maryland
- an infant and a teen in Alabama
- a 17-year-old in Pasco County, Florida
- a teen with underlying health issues in Fort Myers, Florida
- two young children in Hamilton County, Tennessee
- an 11-year-0ld in Florida
- a 9-year-old with no underlying health conditions in Florida
- a 5-year-old with underlying high-risk health conditions in Dallas, Texas
- a 13-year-old in California
a teen in Cook County, Illinois- a 16-year-old girl from Miami-Dade County, Florida
- a 17-year-old boy from Manatee County, Florida
- a 6-year-old in Omaha, Nebraska
- a 6-year-old in Madison County, Tennessee
- a 7-year-old in Chatham County, Georgia
- an 18-year old teen in Kansas
- a 15-year-old in Gwinnett County, Georgia
- a child in Pharr, Texas
- a 9-year old in Ohio
- a child under the age of 5-years in Iowa
- a 6-year-old in Hillsborough County, Florida
- a child under the age of 17-years in Fresno County, California
- a 13-year-old in Shelby County, Tennessee
- a 14-year-old from Cornelia in Habersham County, Georgia
- a 1-year-old in Cobb County, Georgia
- a 12-year old in Pierce County, Georgia
- a 2-month-old in Michigan (had gastroschisis)
- a 2-year-old in Escambia County, Florida
- a teen in the Southside Health District of Virginia
- a 12-year-old in Atlantic Beach, Florida.
- a 17-year-old in North Dakota.
- an 18-year-old from the Chicago area who was attending the University of Dayton
- an 8th grader in eastern Missouri
- a kindergartner in Texas died of COVID-19.
- a 16-year-old in Baltimore County, Maryland.
- a teenager in Hamilton County, Tennessee
- an 18-year-old who had been recovering from COVID-19 died in Melvindale, Michigan
- a 15-year-old with Down syndrome who had just gone into remission for leukemia died in Ballard County, Kentucky
- a 15-year-old in Spokane County, Washington died of COVID-19
- a young child in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania with underlying medical conditions died of COVID-19
- a child under age 9 years in Maryland
- a junior at Madison East High School in died after a brief coronavirus-related illness in Madison, Wisconsin.
- a 15-year-old with multiple underlying health issues died of COVID-19 in Kennewick, Washington.
- a one year old in Maryland has died of COVID-19
- a 17-year-old in Forth Worth, Texas died of COVID-19
- a 10-year-old in San Diego
- A 9-year-old boy from Vernon, Texas and a boy less than 1 year old died in consecutive days two weeks ago at Cook Children’s Medical Center.
- A 6-year-old in Fort Worth died from COVID-related complications.
- A San Antonio fourth grade student passed away just days after testing positive for COVID-19.
- A child between 5 and 9 years of age died of COVID-19 in Chippewa County, Minn.
- a 1st grade student in Minnesota died as a result of COVID-19 complications
- a young child, under age five years, died with COVID-19 in Tippecanoe County, Indiana
- a child under age 11 years died with COVID-19 on a trip to Hawaii with his family
- an infant in Desoto County, Florida
- a 5-year-old in Georgia
The latest reports of COVID-19 deaths, during the Delta surge, include:
- two children in Tennessee
- a 17-year-old in Norfolk, Virginia who died days before she was set to be vaccinated
- an 11-year-old in West Memphis, Arkansas
- a 17-year-old in Georgia
- a 15-year-old with no prior health conditions in Gary, Indiana
- a 9-year-old with cerebral palsy in Bronzeville, Illinois
- a 19-year-old in Union County, Oregon who died shortly after her grandparents also died of COVID
- a 14-month-old in Tallahassee, Florida
- a 17-year-old, who “never left the house,” died just before the start of her senior year in Lake City, Florida
- a 16-year-old in Lancaster County, South Carolina who died as school was about to start
- A 17-year-old in Granville County, North Carolina who developed myocarditis
- a 13-year-old in Smith County, Mississippi who had just started 8th grade
- a 12-year-old in Dayton, Texas who was just about to start 6th grade
- a child under age 9 years in central Virginia
- a 15-year-old in Lubbock, Texas
- a 4-year-old without underlying health problems in Riverside County, California
- a 13-year-old in Oklahoma City who was about to start 8th grade
- an infant in Louisiana
- a 9-year-old in Aiken, South Carolina, a 4th grader at North Augusta Elementary School
- an unvaccinated teenager without underlying medical conditions in Salt Lake County, Utah
- a 13-year-old with no health issues in Floyd County, Georgia
- a 1-year-old in Thomas County, Georgia
- a 17-year-old in Barrow County, Georgia
- a 14-year-old in Jackson County, Georgia
- a vaccinated child with underlying health conditions in Texas
- a child without underlying health conditions in Houston, Texas
- an infant in Douglas County, Oregon with underlying medical conditions
- a 4-year-old in Galveston, Texas whose mom now wishes she had never been against the COVID vaccine…
- a child under age 5 with underlying health conditions in Orange County, California
- an infant underlying high-risk health conditions in Dallas County, Texas
- a child in St. Louis, Missouri (the 6th child to die with COVID in the state)
- a child between the ages of 5 and 11 years in Louisiana (the 6th child to die with COVID during the Delta surge and the 15th to die in the state!)
- a middle school student in Kansas
- a 15-year-old in Fayette County, Kentucky
- another child in Louisiana
- a 17-year-old in Manatee County, Florida
- two more children in Mississippi
- a 5th grader in Suffolk, Virginia
- a 12-year-old from Haddon Township, New Jersey
- an 11-year-old from McLennan County, Texas
- a young child in Nueces County, Texas who was very recently diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes
- a 6-year-old in Charlotte, North Carolina
- another child in Louisiana
- a toddler in Virginia Beach, Virginia
- a 16-year-old in Waco, Texas, a sophomore at Connally High School
- a 19-year-old in Richmond, Virginia
- another child in Kansas
- a child in Idaho
- an infant in Georgia
- two infants in the Anchorage/Matanuska-Susitna Borough areas of Alaska
And during the Omicron surge, the latest reports of COVID-19 deaths include:
- an infant in Solano County, California
- a child in Davis County, Utah
- a child too young to be vaccinated in New Hampshire
- a 17-year-old in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, just weeks before she was going to get vaccinated
- a child under age 10 years in Lakewood, Washington
- a child under age 10 years in Virginia
- a child too young to be vaccinated in Mississippi
- a child too young to be vaccinated in El Paso
- a teenager in Orange County, California, whose father urges others to get vaccinated
- a child under age 10 years in Wisconsin
- a teenager in Bonneville County, Idaho
- three children in Louisiana, including two children who were too young to be vaccinated
Experts have still not confirmed that COVID-19 caused all of these deaths.

Still, the CDC reports that there have been at least 1,742 COVID-19 deaths in children in the United States and cases are on the rise in many areas.

While there are far fewer COVID-19 deaths in children than in adults, the number of deaths is still very concerning.
“Among the 121 decedents, 30 (25%) were previously healthy (no reported underlying medical condition), 91 (75%) had at least one underlying medical condition, and 54 (45%) had two or more underlying medical conditions.”
SARS-CoV-2–Associated Deaths Among Persons Aged <21 Years — United States, February 12–July 31, 2020
And that’s why it is important to continue to encourage your kids to get vaccinated if they are eligible, wear a mask, and follow all social distancing recommendations.
Keep in mind that there have been an additional 71 deaths in children from multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which is associated with COVID-19.
How Many Kids Have Died With COVID-19?
So just how many kids have died with COVID-19?
We still don’t have exact numbers, but it is easy to see that over 1,500 children have died with COVID-19.
And now we should ask why are kids continuing to die with COVID now that we have a safe and effective vaccine that can protect most of them?
More on COVID-19 Deaths
- What to Know About the Omicron Variant
- Are Your COVID Vaccines Up To Date?
- What is the COVID-19 Multi-System Inflammatory State?
- 7 Things You Need to Know About COVID-19
- The Truth About COVID-19 Vaccines
- COVID-19 Vaccination Questions and Answers
- Get All of Your COVID-19 Questions Answered
- MMWR – Trends in COVID-19 Cases, Emergency Department Visits, and Hospital Admissions Among Children and Adolescents Aged 0–17 Years — United States, August 2020–August 2021
- MMWR – Hospitalizations Associated with COVID-19 Among Children and Adolescents — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–August 14, 2021
- MMWR – Hospitalization of Adolescents Aged 12–17 Years with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–April 24, 2021
- Are COVID-19 Hospitalizations for Children Inflated?
- Cumulative COVID-19 Mortality Rate for Children and Teens
- The Majority Of Children Who Die From COVID-19 Are Children Of Color
- MMWR – SARS-CoV-2–Associated Deaths Among Persons Aged <21 Years — United States, February 12–July 31, 2020
- MMWR – Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020
- MMWR – COVID-19–Associated Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children — United States, March–July 2020
- MMWR – Hospitalization Rates and Characteristics of Children Aged <18 Years Hospitalized with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1–July 25, 2020
- CDC – COVID-19 Information for Pediatric Healthcare Providers
- CDC – COVID Data Tracker
- Study – SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Children
- Study – Epidemiological Characteristics of 2143 Pediatric Patients With 2019 Coronavirus Disease in China
- AAP – Children and COVID-19: State-Level Data Report as of 7/2/20
- Virtual Pediatric Systems
- The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of an infant and a teenager
- L.A. County teen’s death may be coronavirus-related. Here’s what we know
- Man charged in death of infant son who had COVID-19; 6 responding Warren officers quarantined
- Why children are not immune to Covid-19
- U.S. Coronavirus Rates Are Rising Fast Among Children
- Family of Durham 7-year-old who died of COVID-19 urges parents to vaccinate their children
Last Updated on August 17, 2022 by Vincent Iannelli, MD
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