Child under 5 dies of complications from COVID-19 in Orange County, health officials say

Orange County health officials confirmed her second pediatric death from COVID on Friday.

The child, who was under 5, had underlying health issues and died of complications from COVID-19 last month, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency.

“My heart goes out to this family who lost a precious young life. It is an urgent reminder that we must do everything possible to protect our little ones, children and infants in our community who are not yet eligible for vaccination. , “said Dr Clayton Chau, county health official, in a press release.

Additional details about the child, such as gender and exact age, were not immediately disclosed.

This is the second COVID pediatric death in Orange County. The first juvenile COVID death occurred in August 2020, and this teenage girl had significant underlying health issues.

Last month, a child under 12 with underlying health conditions was reported among deaths from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County.

“On the contrary, it reminds us how much this disease can affect anyone at any age,” said Dr Regina Chinsio-Kwong, deputy county health officer.

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In the meantime, President Joe Biden is calling on the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to put in place a temporary emergency standard that would require companies to ensure workers are vaccinated.

“The president covers over 100 million workers with vaccination requirements – 100 million workers is two-thirds of our workers in America,” said Jeff Zients, the White House COVID coordinator.

There is resistance to the plan. An ABC News / Washington Post poll finds nine in ten unvaccinated adults oppose employer-led workplace vaccination mandates. And among unvaccinated workers, less than two in ten say they will comply.

“We need to help people feel confident that getting the vaccine is the right choice for them and their families,” said US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy.

This is because there is a record number of COVID infections in children. The president visited a school this morning with the education secretary.

“The safest thing you can do for your 12 and older child is to get him or her vaccinated,” Biden said.

MORE | Biden announces new COVID vaccine mandates for 100 million Americans

On Thursday, LAUSD became the largest district to mandate vaccines for students aged 12 and older.

“We need to do everything we can to protect our children and keep them safe in school for in-person learning,” said CDC director Rochelle Walensky.

Los Angeles County said it has re-examined older COVID cases and found evidence for the mu variant to appear over the summer. The good news is that the overall numbers are improving and cases are down.

“With our cumulative seven-day case rate now 104 new cases per 100,000 population, this case rate represents a welcome drop of 35% from last week. This is the third week in a row that we’ve seen a decrease in our case rate, ”said Barbara Ferrer, director of the LA County Public Health Department.

Officials say that even though they see more revolutionary cases, they are still a very small number. More than 90% of people hospitalized for COVID are not vaccinated.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this story indicated that the child’s death was the first pediatric death related to COVID in Orange County. It is the second, but the youngest.