A child age 1-5 has died from COVID-19 in Mississippi, health department confirms
Another Mississippi child has died of COVID-19, the state health department announced Tuesday morning.
The child, who was between the ages of 1 and 5 years old, is the 11th pediatric death in the state since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Of those 11 deaths, four were children under 5, according to state records. Seven were children ages 5 to 17; of those, six were in the 11-17 range.
Children under the age of 5 are not currently eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine.
“If your child is too young for vaccination, be sure that you and others in your household are vaccinated in order to protect younger children from possible COVID-19 exposure,” the health department tweeted Tuesday. “Vaccination greatly reduces the risk of severe illness in children and adults.”
The department does not release the county in which pediatric deaths occurred in order to protect the family’s privacy.
The state’s 10th pediatric death was announced on Jan. 26. The health department at that time said all children who died were unvaccinated.
Last week, state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers said 7% of 5- to 11-year-olds in Mississippi and 37% of 12- to 17-year-olds are fully vaccinated.
The recent pediatric deaths have occurred as cases in Mississippi have surged to unprecedented levels thanks to the omicron variant.
