First Wisconsin Child under 10 Dies from COVID-19

A Wisconsin child under the age of 10 has died from COVID-19, the state’s first death resulting from the virus in someone that young, Children’s Wisconsin hospital said Wednesday.  Other information regarding the child or when they died was not released, though hospital officials stressed that children should be vaccinated against COVID-19 and receive a flu shot.

Dr. Michael Gutzeit, the Milwaukee hospital’s chief medical officer said that while severe illness from COVID-19 in kids is rare, this is a reminder that COVID-19 is a risk at any age. People under the age of 20 have made up only 0.1% of Wisconsin nearly 9,800 deaths from COVID-19. Children between 5 and 11 first became eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine in early November.

There were 12 children hospitalized with COVID-19 at Children’s Wisconsin over the past week. While the kids in our Milwaukee hospital with respiratory illnesses has remained steady, we are expecting to see an increase as the number of kids testing positive for COVID-19 and influenza are increasing in the community.