The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) Wednesday confirmed its 10th pediatric death in a child under 18 from COVID-19. None of the 10 pediatric deaths were vaccinated. MSDH would not provide any further details about the youngster involved, age, or what part of the state he or she may have lived.
Vaccinations are now available for any child five years of age and older at all county health departments. Boosters are recommended for those over 12 to prevent hospitalization and death.
Since COVID-19 was first diagnosed in Mississippi in March of 2020, the MSDH has reported:
one death in an infant (under one year of age)
two deaths in the 1-5 year age range
one death in the 6-10 year age range
six deaths in the 11-17 year age range
State Epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers encourages parents to discuss childhood vaccination with their health care provider.
“Currently we only have seven percent of the 5-11 age group fully vaccinated and 37 percent of the 12-17 age group fully vaccinated. Vaccination is the best protection for our children who are eligible to receive it. For those under 5 years of age, it is critically important that everyone around the infant or child be vaccinated.”
Beyond vaccination and booster shots, protection efforts such as social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large crowds continue to be recommended.
MSDH offered the following update Wednesday morning about cases and deaths in the state from COVID-19:
The State Department of Health has also posted the following video with Chief Medical Officer Dr. Thomas Dobbs about the latest on COVID-19 in the state, noting the impact on hospitalizations, a fall in daily case and hospitalization averages in Mississippi and improving supplies of certain types of treatment in the state.
