Jacksonville, 8, dies of coronavirus syndrome, family says



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JACKSONVILLE, Florida – Friends and family mourn the loss of an 8-year-old Jacksonville girl after her death early Saturday morning from COVID-19-related syndrome.

Deaurra Nealy was a sophomore at Twin Lakes Academy Elementary School. She has been described by her family as a loving and caring little girl who was a good student.

“She tried to be excellent in everything, her grades. She had all 100’s and a 95, and she thought that wasn’t good enough. That’s the kind of person she was, ”said Dearick Nealy, Deaurra’s father. “She wanted to uplift people, and she lit the room when she walked in. I mean, she inspired so many people in such a short time. I just knew she was just a perfect kid.

According to her father, Deaurra died just days after the first signs of multisystem inflammatory syndrome, or MIS-C, which is a disease in children that typically follows infection or exposure to the coronavirus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dearick said her child’s tests returned showing she was negative for the virus, but also showed she had been infected at some point.

“A perfectly healthy child, just for a normal stomach ache and a negative COVID test,” he says. “And then his fever wouldn’t break.

Deaurra Nealy, 8 years old
Deaurra Nealy, 8 years old (Copyright 2020 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.)

As MIS-C develops, according to the CDC, parts of the body can become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs.

“Unfortunately, this is a syndrome where it’s quite pronounced when children have it,” said Dr. Jonathan Kantor, of the Penn Center for Epidemiology. “Again, you think it’s sort of a reaction to the body, kind of an inflammatory reaction, but you don’t really understand exactly what mediates it.”

The CDC says of the syndrome, “We don’t know why some kids got sick with MIS-C and others didn’t. We also don’t know if children with certain health conditions are more likely to get MIS-C. These are among the many questions that CDC is trying to figure out. “

“The key message is that is why it is so important for us to take COVID-19 seriously, in every population,” Kantor said.

Deaurra’s father said he wanted to warn other families as well, urging everyone to follow safety instructions.

“A lot of people are told that COVID-19 does not affect children. And so a lot of people get lazy with simple sanitary measures like masks and hand sanitizer – just something simple, ”he says. “It’s not to pass this on to anyone.”

The family has started a GoFundMe campaign to cover medical bills.

Copyright 2021 by WJXT News4Jax – All rights reserved.

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