15-Month-Old Baby Dies Of COVID-19, Raising Concerns For Unvaccinated Children

A 15-month-old baby in Los Angeles died of COVID-19 as the county marked the two-year anniversary of its first-known coronavirus infection.

“This is the youngest resident to die of COVID-19 since the pandemic began and a stark reminder that the virus can cause devastating outcomes among those most vulnerable, including young children not yet eligible for vaccinations,” a statement from Los Angeles County Public Health officials said.

The child died Wednesday. No details about the death were released as of Thursday morning.

“As we mark the two-year anniversary of the first case detected in L.A. County, I send my heartfelt condolences and wishes of healing to the family who suffered the devastating loss of their small child, and to the countless people who have lost a loved one to this pandemic,” Barbara Ferrer, the county public health director, said in a statement, according to Los Angeles Times.

The latest death has raised concerns about unvaccinated children as any child under the age of five was not eligible for vaccination in Los Angeles or in the United States. While 68 percent of all L.A. County residents are fully vaccinated, only 20 percent of kids aged between 5-11 in the region are completely vaccinated, according to Deadline.

Even though people are optimistic the Omicron surge has reached its peak, concerns continue to grow about the vaccination efforts as officials believe the latest wave is not the last one of the pandemic. Officials reportedly said low vaccination rates among children between ages 5 and 11 risk ongoing transmission of disease, Los Angeles Times reported.

Between Jan. 16 and Jan. 22, there were 11 new school outbreaks. Nine of those were in elementary schools, one in a high school, and one in youth sports, according to reports.

There are 4,534 people with COVID-19 currently hospitalized in Los Angeles County. But the number has seen a decline from nearly 5,000 last week. Officials confirmed 20,866 new infections Wednesday in the county, a number about as high as the peak of the 2020-2021 winter surge. There are 91 additional COVID-related deaths recorded in the last 24 hours.

California has now surpassed 8 million coronavirus cases in the pandemic. In the last 24 hours, the United States recorded 11,72,810 cases, according to the World Health Organization.