KEY POINTS

  • The boy, age between 10 and 19, is Houston’s first casualty of a healthy child
  • Six other pediatric deaths had underlying health issues
  • There is no Covid vaccine authorized for use on children below 12
  • Houston has recoreded 3,063 COVID-19 deaths

Houston has reported the first case of a boy with no underlying health issues who passed away from COVID-19. The boy was unvaccinated and passed away late in July.

The Houston Health Department reported that it is still unknown whether the boy, age between 10 and 19, contracted the Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, but that it was a confirmed COVID-19 case, NBC affiliate KPRC-TV reported. The health department did not provide further details about the boy’s background due to privacy laws.

Houston City Mayor Sylvester Turner expressed her condolences to the boy’s family and urged eligible residents to get vaccinated. “I encourage all eligible Houstonians ages 12 and older to get vaccinated and wear a face mask in large crowds or areas where you cannot socially distance,” Turner said.

Houston has recorded six other pediatric deaths since the pandemic started. However, the previous cases all had underlying health conditions. Chief Medical Officer for the City of Houston, Dr. David Persse, noted that the previous deaths have been in and out of medical checkups “for most of their life,” CBS affiliate KHOU reported.

Persse noted that the recent pediatric death in Houston is proof that there is no guarantee healthy kids will not be infected with COVID-19. “And this is a case that illustrates, as we’ve been saying all along, that is not a guarantee,” he said.

There is no COVID-19 vaccine authorized for kids aged below 12 to date. The Pfizer vaccine has been authorized for use on children aged 12 and beyond. The Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines are authorized for use on teens age 18 and above.

The latest death is among the 13 COVID-related deaths reported by the department Thursday. Most of the deceased were of age between 40 and 79. Houston has recoreded a total of 3,063 deaths linked to the virus. Also on Thursday, the department reported 1,412 new confirmed infections with inclusions of unreported cases within the last 16 days. The city now has a total of 240,115 cases since the pandemic started.

A volunteer administers a Covid-19 vaccine dose on May 13, 2021 in Houston, Texas, where healthcare workers at one hospital are suing it over a requirement they be inoculated
A volunteer administers a Covid-19 vaccine dose on May 13, 2021 in Houston, Texas, where healthcare workers at one hospital are suing it over a requirement they be inoculated GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Brandon Bell
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