Covid-19 In US: Four-Yr-Old Girl Succumbs To Infection In Texas After Anti-Vaxxer Mom Contracts Virus

The child was unvaccinated like most children below the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for inoculation

Kali Cook died last week due to Covid-19 (GoFundMe/Karra Harwood)

New Delhi: In the first incident of Covid-19 related death in Texas’s Galveston County, a four-year-old child has succumbed to the virus since the outbreak last year after family members were infected including the mother who was unvaccinated.

Kali Cook passed away in her sleep on 7 September soon after the coronavirus symptoms were identified, according to the Independent report. The child was unvaccinated like most children below the age of 12 who are not yet eligible for inoculation.

The child’s mother Karra Harwood also didn’t take any vaccination and described herself as against vaccination. “I was one of the people that was anti, I was against it. Now, I wish I never was,” she was quoted by The Daily News.

What caused the death?

The family of the child who had four siblings was living in Bacliff, who went into quarantine after getting infected. "I ended up getting Covid-19 and was diagnosed on Monday,” the mother said. “I came home and was isolated. I tried to stay away from her and didn’t want her and my other kids to get it.”

Kali's temperature went up at 2 am and medicine was given to control the fever.

However, Kali had already passed in sleep around 7 am, and without any condition of immune disorders or other health conditions, said the mother. “I did not murder my daughter. There are people getting vaccinated that are still getting Covid and they can still spread Covid,” the mother was quoted by news channel KPRC-TV in teh report.

After conducting examinations the Galveston county medical examiner’s office confirmed the reason behind the child’s death as Covid-19. The health officials didn’t believe the girl was infected at her school where she was studying in pre-kindergarten because contact tracing didn’t show any student or adult in contact with the child being positive, according to the Independent.

Harwood's five-month-old baby has also been infected with the virus, as per the report. “I’ve taken him to the hospital every night since because I feel like they’re not getting better, and I’m terrified,” she added.

The latest incident has come amid growing numbers of cases related to the Delta variant being observed in children in the US.

According to the report, the Galveston County health district reported around 1,382 cases of the new virus in children younger than 12.  Till last week, as many as 24 Covid-19 related deaths in children under the age of 10 were reported in Texas.