BATON ROUGE, La. (KLFY) — Three Louisiana children have died from the Omicron surge of COVID-19 in the past week, according to the Louisiana Department of Health (LDH).
Two of the children were under 5 years old. The third child was between 5 and 17 years old. The deaths took place in the past week. There were 9 pediatric deaths during the Delta surge.
A total of 21 children under 18 years old have died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic in Louisiana.
“Every life lost is a tragedy. That we have lost 21 children in our state to COVID-19, many of them not yet eligible to get the COVID-19 vaccine, is unbearable,” said State Health Officer Dr. Joseph Kanter. “Our young children who are not eligible to get the vaccine rely on us to protect them.”
“While cases are declining from our Omicron surge, the risk is not zero. Families should carefully judge their risk and risk tolerance, particularly in the Mardi Gras season,” Kanter said. “Becoming fully vaccinated and boosted if eligible, wearing a high-quality and well-fitting mask, and avoiding crowds and indoor unmasked public spaces can increase a family’s protection and lower their risk.”
For a list of locations near you, check visit ldh.la.gov/covidvaccine or text your ZIP code to GETVAX (438829) in English or VACUNA (822862) in Spanish
