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 5% of cases in the United States have occurred in children and teens who are less than 18 years old, some of those “pediatric COVID-19 cases were hospitalized.”
Some were even admitted to the ICU and tragically, some have died.
Are Kids Dying With COVID-19?
How many kids?
So far, as of late June, there have been nearly 500,000 COVID-19 deaths worldwide (all ages), including 124,976 deaths in the United States (all ages).
“In China, the novel coronavirus has claimed the lives of a 10-month-old and a 14-year-old, at least.”
The coronavirus pandemic has claimed the lives of an infant and a teenager
And some of those deaths have been in children.
“Three deaths were reported among the pediatric cases included in this analysis; however, review of these cases is ongoing to confirm COVID-19 as the likely cause of death.”
Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020
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
- a six-week old infant in Connecticut who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during postmortem testing
- 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…- an infant (under 12 months old) 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
The latest reports of COVID-19 deaths include:
- 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
Again, experts have still not confirmed that COVID-19 caused all of these deaths.
Still, the AAP reports that there have been at least 58 COVID-19 deaths in children in the United States and cases are on the rise in many areas.
“An official cause of death remains outstanding pending toxicology results, and officials said it is possible the child died not from the virus but from an underlying condition, sudden infant death syndrome or positional asphyxiation.”
Questions remain about the death of a Hartford infant, despite governor’s claim death was linked to coronavirus
While it likely seems hard to believe, since we know that children can be infected with SARS-CoV-2 and not have symptoms, it should become easier to understand that some pediatric deaths could be unrelated to a positive COVID-19 test.
Of course, that likely won’t mean that they were all unrelated, but still, it is easy to see that there are far, far fewer COVID-19 deaths in children than in adults.
And remember to continue to encourage your kids to follow all social distancing recommendations, as even though they don’t typically get severe disease, kids likely do get mild or asymptomatic disease that they can spread to others.
More on COVID-19 Deaths
- What is the COVID-19 Multi-System Inflammatory State?
- Kids and COVID-19
- What is the COVID-19 Mortality Rate?
- When to Call Your Pediatrician – COVID-19 Edition
- Should You Be Tested for COVID-19?
- 5 Things You Need to Know About COVID-19
- What to Do if You Have Been Exposed to COVID-19
- MMWR – Coronavirus Disease 2019 in Children — United States, February 12–April 2, 2020
- CDC – COVID-19 Information for Pediatric Healthcare Providers
- 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
