A preschooler Texas girl died of Covid-19, just hours after she was found to have fever after. Kali Cook was just four years old and died this week even before her parents could take her to the hospital. The girl died about five hours after she was found to have a fever, her mother Karra Harwood told the Houston Chronicle.
The child's death comes not only as a shock but the short time within which she died underscores warnings from physicians that although children tend to fare well against Covid, when they do become ill they can become very ill and illness can progress rapidly.
Shocking Death
According to reports, Cook died in her sleep, without her parents even realizing it as she was just having fever. And all these happened just within a day of the child showing symptoms of the virus. She became the youngest Covid death in Galveston County since the pandemic began in March 2020, according to KPRC.
"Kali was perfectly fine, and then she was gone," her mother was quoted saying. "It took her so fast." Her mother, however, was unvaccinated against the virus that has killed nearly 60,000 Texans.
"I was one of the people that was anti, I was against it," Harwood told The Daily News. "Now, I wish I never was." Cook was described by Harwood as a "funny and sassy" girl who would "rather play with worms and frogs than wear bows," according to the outlet.
What is more shocking is that the four-year-old had enjoyed a pleasant evening with her family less than 12 hours before suddenly dying hours after testing positive for Covid-19.
Fear Escalates Top of Form
She started preschool last month at Kenneth E. Little Elementary School in Bacliff. The school district "strongly recommends" students and staff members wear face coverings, but they are not required. However, it's Harwood who is now blaming herself for her daughter's death, as she wasn't vaccinated.
Harwood, her son and 5-month-old daughter also are infected with the virus and the girl died just a day after they all tested positive for the virus. The family is currently quarantined at home. Health officials do not believe she contracted Covid-19 from her classroom.
Harwood said in a Facebook post she and her fiancée, who she said has lung problems, were debating over getting the vaccine when the outbreak in her home occurred. Harwood said she didn't want people to think of her daughter as an anonymous statistic. She wants people to know who her daughter was. "I would rather her be a name than just a little girl," she said. "She was beautiful."
Cook's tragic death comes amid a massive surge of the delta variant, which has attacked young children at rates far higher than expected. According to the Texas Department of State Health Services, as of September 10, at least 2,384 children have contracted Covid-19 in the state.
However, no resident of Galveston County younger than age 20 has succumbed to the virus. Cook is the youngest.
