2-month-old dies from COVID-19 in Michigan

A top medical official in Michigan warned that children are not spared from the coronavirus after a 2-month-old baby died from COVID-19 in the state this week.

Chief deputy director for health at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Joneigh Khaldun during a briefing Wednesday on coronavirus cases in the state relayed the news of the infant’s death.

She said many people with the coronavirus in the state were not surviving, but that some suffered through difficult health problems as a result, according to a report in CBS News. 

“And children are not spared from this disease, either,” she said. “I was so saddened to hear this week of a 2-month-old baby in Michigan who died because of COVID-19. My condolences go out to their parents and family.” 

The child who died was named Hudson Cowboy King and was born in July, according to a report in the Detroit Free Press.

The new outlet reported that the baby had other serious health complications, including gastroschisis, a congenital disability causing the intestines to develop outside the body.

The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office reported the cause of death was due to gastroschisis, but the report added on the first line: “This 2-month-old infant died from COVID-19. He had GI symptoms of the disease, which exacerbated tenuous congenital defects.”

The baby’s mother, Brooke Granquist, took to Facebook after Khaldun’s announcement at the press conference, according to the Detroit Free Press, expressing anger and outrage that her son’s name was not mentioned during the press conference, and denying that COVID-19 played a role in his death.

“I am so angry,” in a post that was shared by thousands of users before it was deleted. “I am angry at the government for skewing numbers and making my baby a statistic to try to benefit their agenda while my family is suffering.”

The Detroit Free Press contacted Granquist Thursday evening, but she declined to interview.

Bob Wheaton, a spokesperson for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, told the Detroit Free Press that the state follows national standards in classifying coronavirus deaths.

He said the qualifying standards for ruling a COVID-19 death are considered if the death is natural, the virus is confirmed through a proper test kit, and the fatality must be within 30 days of the virus’s onset.

People with underlying health conditions are vulnerable to getting the coronavirus, which can exacerbate pre-existing conditions. 

Children are one of the demographics the least at risk for contracting the coronavirus. However, there have been instances of very young children dying from the disease. The MinnPost reported in July that a 9-month-old died from COVID-19, the first person under the age of 20 to die in Minnesota. 

According to statistics from the American Academy of Pediatrics, there have been 549,000 children to test positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic.

Still, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday reported that 120 patients under the age of 21 died from coronavirus in the U.S. this year, the majority of them were of color. Most of the deaths reported were in the 14 to 20 age range.

Khaldun expressed her condolences to the family of the 2-month-old Wednesday. 

“COVID-19 is not something to be taken lightly and the measures the governor have put in place are important,” Khaldun said. “We are fighting COVID-19 because we not only want people to live, but for people to have long lives.”

In Michigan, there have been 114,692 COVID-19 cases in Michigan and 6,632 deaths, according to data from the state updated on Thursday.