QCOSTARICA – A baby of one month and 20 days died this Wednesday at the Hospital Nacional de Niños (HNN) – National Children’s Hospital – as a result of the complications of covid-19.
He became the 19th minor fatality from the pandemic.
Olga Arguedas, director of the medical center, confirmed that it was a child with “serious illnesses and conditions” that predisposed him to greater complications in case of infection.
“It is very sad, but the reflection is that even children with predisposing medical conditions have the right to a chance at life, and the covid does not give it to them,” stressed the pediatrician.
The doctor stressed the importance that, given the impossibility of vaccinating children, the application of the doses in those who live with them is essential to protect them from the disease.
“We have to vaccinate adults to protect children in a strategy called ‘cocoon effect’. 80% of children catch it from someone who lives with them. If these people are vaccinated, they will protect those who cannot be vaccinated,” said Arguedas.
Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that as of Wednesday, 50,889 minors had been infected with the virus.
Since last September 6, the National Children’s Hospital (HNN) requested regional and peripheral hospitals to create their pediatric covid-19 units to treat mild and moderate cases there.
Given the lack of space, the HNN will only receive the most serious.
“We had to give the warning to the other hospitals because we are full. Before we had been able to take on all of them; now they will stay in the hospitals near their home and will come here in case of more seriousness,” explained Arguedas.
This Wednesday, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported that although this population has fewer symptoms, in recent months more serious cases have been seen in different countries.
“When children are infected, they tend to have moderate or no symptoms, but they can develop severe illness. As with adults, those with more chronic diseases or obesity are more likely to require a hospital,” said Carissa Etienne, PAHO director.
“Let’s be clear: children and adolescents also face a risk when they become infected with covid-19. The broad impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents cannot be ignored,” she added.