Four-year-old girl with no past medical history dies from Covid-19
A four year-old girl who came down with Covid-19 has died, said the Ministry of Health.
This is the second death here caused by the coronavirus in a patient aged below 12.
Responding to media queries on Tuesday (July 19), MOH said the child died from pneumonia on Sunday, and that she had no past medical history and was previously well.
"She developed symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection and fever on July 15, and tested positive for Covid-19 via an antigen rapid test (ART) on Sunday at a General Practitioner clinic," said MOH.
She was prescribed medications for her symptoms but remained unwell, and collapsed later that night, the ministry added.
MOH said that the cause of death was later determined by the state coroner to be Covid-19 pneumonia.
On June 27, a 1½-year-old boy had died from encephalitis - or inflammation of the brain - due to Covid-19 and two other viruses, said MOH then.
The two viruses were the respiratory syncytial virus and the enterovirus.
It added that the boy had no other past medical history and was previously well.
"Children are generally more resilient to Covid-19 infections than adults and the elderly. Notwithstanding, Covid-19 infections can result in severe disease amongst children," said the ministry on Tuesday.
It added that MOH, the Health Sciences Authority and the Expert Committee on Covid-19 Vaccination are studying the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines that have been formulated for young children under the age of five.
This comes after the United States' Food and Drug Administration had expanded the authorisations for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to include children as young as six months old earlier this year.
The Moderna vaccine is suitable for children aged six months to five years of age whereas the Pfizer vaccine is for children aged six months to four years old.
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