Baby under two months dies from COVID-19 at Montreal hospital

A baby, under two months of age, has died from COVID-19, according to the CHU Sainte-Justine Hospital in Montreal.

La grande famille du CHU Sainte-Justine est affectée par le décès en ses murs d’un nourrisson des suites de la COVID-19. Nous présentons nos plus sincères condoléances aux parents et à la famille du nourrisson. https://t.co/JPDI55ooda pic.twitter.com/sNJ7gxaWPH

— CHU Sainte-Justine (@ChuSteJustine) December 17, 2021

In a release Friday afternoon, the hospital said the baby was in good health at the time of delivery, but was recently hospitalized in the ICU because of COVID-19.

“Children under one year of age have a higher rate of hospitalization than older children,” said pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Jesse Papenburg on COVID-19 in young infants, after an under two month old died from the virus in Montreal on Thursday.

#WATCH:"Children under one year of age have a higher rate of hospitalization than older children," said pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Jesse Papenburg on COVID-19 in young infants, after an under two month old died from the virus in Montreal on Thursday. @CityNewsMTL pic.twitter.com/GZrS3nqXq2

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) December 17, 2021

“With respiratory viruses, common colds can be quite severe in young babies under three months of age it has to do wt the fact that they have very small airways in the lungs and when those airways get plugged up with secretions or with mucus they can run into big trouble with oxygen of requiring respiratory support.”

The baby, whose gender is unknown, died on December 16th.

The hospital is not releasing any other details, nor is granting interviews, but sends its sincere condolences to the family.

Dr. Papenburg adds there are ways to help protect babies from severe infection.

“We also know vaccinating pregnant women is important to prevent severe disease during pregnancy because pregnancy is a major risk factor for severe COVID-19 but also if the mother gets vaccinated during pregnancy, she will pass on some of those antibodies to the baby during the third trimester and that is presumed to offer some protection for the baby for the first few weeks of its life and same thing during breastfeeding there are COVID-19 antibodies it can also help protect the baby.”

The CHU Sainte-Justine also said that infants are more at risk of complications related to COVID-19 and recommends preventative measures like wearing a mask, hand-washing and practicing physical distancing.

-With files from Brittany Henriques