9-year-old Chicago boy with underlying health conditions dies after contracting COVID-19
CHICAGO - A 9-year-old Chicago boy has died after contracting COVID-19.
According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, the boy from Grand Boulevard was a quadriplegic and had cerebral palsy as well as reactive airway disease.
The 9-year-old contracted COVID-19 which resulted in him getting pneumonia, according to the medical examiner's records.
"As of August 5, nearly 4.3 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic," the American Academy of Pediatrics said on their website. "Almost 94,000 cases were added the past week, a continuing substantial increase. After declining in early summer, child cases have steadily increased since the beginning of July."
Although more COVID cases have been reported in children in recent weeks, the American Academy of Pediatrics said severe illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon among children.
Experts believe there is still an urgent need to collect more data on the longer-term impacts of COVID-19 on children.
Currently, children ages 12 and older are able to get vaccinated against the virus.