JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A local mother is urging people to take COVID-19 seriously after her 2-month-old daughter tested positive.
Rachel Boggs said her son had RSV so she assumed her daughter was coming down with it as well. But after getting tested, she was surprised to find out her daughter has coronavirus.
“I feel ignorant to some extent because I was one of those people who didn’t take it seriously,” Boggs said.
Boggs said her daughter Addilyn was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday morning.
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“She was fussy all night then at 4 o’clock she sounded congested one time to me and I was like I’m taking you in,” she said.
Boggs rushed her daughter to Wolfson Children’s Hospital.
“They did the swab. It was a rapid test swab for COVID, strep and RSV,” Boggs said. “I was not expecting it to come back with that COVID diagnosis.”
Boggs said her daughter’s doctor was surprised too.
“He said, unfortunately, it’s COVID positive, but little kids are a bit more resilient to this than adults are,” Boggs said.
Dr. Maria Mora, Addilyn’s primary pediatrician at Middleburg Pediatrics, said she has seen an increase in coronavirus patients.
“We see a lot of coronavirus infections that aren’t SARs related,” Mora said. “Studies are showing there is cross-reactivity and protection against this coronavirus.”
Dr. Mora said an infant at her office tested positive Friday as well.
More than 4 million children have tested positive for the coronavirus in the USA, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Children represent 2.2% of total COVID-19 hospitalizations and .07% of total deaths.
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Mora’s only worry is that some small children can contract MIS-C, Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome. The inflammation can affect the heart blood vessels and other organs making some children very ill.
Doctors say the one way to prevent the spread of COVID-19 is to get vaccinated, but the vaccine is only available right now for children 12 and older.