A Louisiana child under the age of one has died of Covid-19 this week, according to a statement released by the Louisiana Department of Health.
The officials said the death was attributed to the more contagious Delta variant and low vaccination rates in the state.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there have been 12,226 covid-19 deaths in Louisiana. Kids and babies infected with Covid-19 typically are not hospitalised or die from the disease. But that does not mean all kids’ infections aren’t severe, especially with the new variant.
Governor John Bel Edwards said in the state’s fourth surge, younger people are getting hospitalised, with 63 kids requiring hospitalisation last week. 31 per cent of new Covid-19 cases are in people 18 and younger.
Other hospitals in the south and midwest are also seeing more kids with severe cases of Covid-19.
For those eligible to get vaccinated — people 12 and older — a shot can prevent an infection from becoming severe. Yet, only 40 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, making Louisiana a state with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country, too.
“Each Covid-19 death in Louisiana has been heart wrenching, but the loss of such a young child, who could not be vaccinated yet, is tragic and a stark reminder of the difficult circumstance we are in throughout Louisiana,” Mr Edwards said in the statement.
So far, 11 children in Louisiana have died from Covid-19.
Dr Joseph Kanter, a state health officer, said while kids under 12 can’t get vaccinated, those eligible can protect this population from covid-19.
“The best way we can protect ourselves, our loved ones and young children who are not eligible to get the vaccine is to get vaccinated ourselves and wear a mask. It’s really that simple,” Mr Kanter said in the statement.
