Previously healthy baby, less than two months old, dies of COVID-19 in Montreal hospital
A Montreal infant who had no pre-existing health concerns has died of COVID-19 at one of the city's children's hospitals this week, the hospital said Friday.
The baby was less than two months old on Thursday when he or she died, Sainte-Justine Hospital said in a news release.
"The University Hospital regrets to announce the death within its walls of a baby under two months of age from COVID-19," a hospital spokesperson wrote.
"The child, healthy at birth, was recently hospitalized in intensive care due to COVID and died on December 16."
The hospital is providing no other details about the case and won't grant any interviews because of the need for confidentiality, it said.
But it "wishes to offer its sincere condolences to the parents and the family of the infant," it said.
It also wanted to remind the public "that infants are at greater risk of complications linked to COVID-19" and that it's necessary to take precautions to reduce transmission around them.
That includes reducing contacts, wearing masks, handwashing, social distancing of two metres, and "the vaccination of relatives."
Deaths of young children in Canada from COVID-19 have been extremely rare.
Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Theresa Tam said in late November that over the course of the pandemic there have been fewer than 20 fatalities among those under 19.
In Quebec, two teenagers have died of the virus, including a 16-year-old girl, the province's youngest victim until now.
Around the world, deaths of babies and children have also been rare. The United Kingdom, with a population nearly twice the size of Canada's, has seen only 25 deaths of people under 18.
The United States, with its much bigger population and much lower vaccination rate, has marked 771 deaths of children under 18, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. An outsized proportion of those deaths, nearly 44 per cent, were among children four and younger.
BABIES' SMALL AIRWAYS MAKE THEM VULNERABLE
What makes COVID-19 especially dangerous to small babies is that it attacks the airways, which in infants are tiny and easily blocked.
This risk is well known among pediatricians when it comes to many viruses, said Dr. Jesse Papenburg, a Montreal pediatric epidemiologist.
"Newborns’ and very young babies’ smaller airways are more easily blocked by mucus and secretions if a virus goes down into the lungs," he said, making it more likely they'll need "oxygen or other forms of respiratory support."
The virus that causes the common cold in adults often turns far more serious for infants -- a full two per cent of all infants in North America are hospitalized for this virus, called RSV, before they turn one.
"Generally speaking, respiratory virus infections tend to be more severe in children under three months of age," Papenburg said, which "is also likely the case for COVID-19."
Data from the Public Health Agency of Canada have led doctors to the same conclusion, suggesting that infants under a year old have a higher risk of being hospitalized with COVID-19 than older children do, Papenburg said.
Like Ste-Justine, he said that it's necessary to take extra precautions in a baby's first weeks of life, including washing hands frequently and limiting the number of people the baby is in contact with, especially avoiding sick people.
"COVID-19 vaccination of family members can also help to protect those too young to be immunized," he said.
Experts also stressed the importance of expectant mothers getting vaccinated, since this is the only way babies can have antibodies against COVID-19 in their earliest months.
"Vaccination of pregnant women is especially important to prevent severe COVID-19 during pregnancy, but also likely protects babies during early life by transfer of mom’s antibodies during the third trimester and during breastfeeding," said Papenburg.
"Babies... are born with an immature immune system, which prevents them from being able to fight off infections properly," said another Montreal infectious diseases specialist, Dr. Donald Vinh.
The antibodies that the mom produces act as “major barriers” against infection, after they "get passed on to the fetus, providing the baby protection for the first six to nine months of life," he said, while the baby's own immune system is maturing to the point that it can provide its own defences.
"For this reason, it has long been recognized that women who are planning to become pregnant, or who are pregnant, should be up to date with their vaccinations," said Vinh.
This is partly why Quebec and other jurisdictions have been changing immunization schedules to give pregnant women priority, he said -- to help them get up to date in time to pass on these antibodies to their babies.
As for the safety of COVID-19 vaccines, Vinh said data over the last year have consistently shown they “are safe to give to pregnant women, with no increases in complications, such as miscarriages or stillbirths, and no deformities or harms to the fetuses.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.