It’s not yet certain whether the COVID-positive 4-month-old infant who passed away did in fact die purely of COVID-19 or of a comorbidity.
The Joint Information Center on Thursday classified the 4-month-old’s death as COVID-related.
Dr. Robert Leon Guerrero, Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Public Health and Social Services, said they don’t have all the details yet so they cannot categorically state whether the infant died of COVID-19 or another underlying cause.
“The data right now doesn’t show us. The information that we’re getting is fairly sketchy. What we’ve heard so far was that the infant lived in a house where there were, I think, three or four positive cases of COVID. The baby, when he went to sleep, had no symptoms at all. They didn’t really know that he was COVID-positive until they got to the hospital,” Dr. Leon Guerrero said.
He continued: “Upon reaching the hospital, he was swabbed, but when he went to bed, according to the information that we’ve got so far, there were no symptoms. So it kind of fits the definition of SIDS but again we don’t know all the details to say that it’s because of this or that. So until we get more information, it’s all speculatory.”
Dr. Annette David, who was also present during the briefing, said this case again reinforces the need for all people to get vaccinated.
She pointed out that since the younger age groups are still not eligible for vaccination, it is up to the older adults to ensure that they are vaccinated to ensure that they do not spread the virus to the children.
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