Child younger than 10 dies of COVID-19 in Eastern Virginia; second juvenile death this week

An Eastern Virginia child who was younger than 10 died of COVID-19, the second-known fatal juvenile case this week in the region, a public health official confirmed.

The death was recorded Wednesday. The child was the 12th to die of the coronavirus in the state. Though news outlets knew sooner about the death of Teresa Sperry, a 10-year-old from Suffolk, the Virginia Department of Health recorded it as the 13th on Thursday.

More children were admitted with COVID-19 in September than any other month of the pandemic to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters, the only freestanding pediatric hospital in Virginia. The staff’s second-highest coronavirus patient volume was in August.

The more contagious delta variant has driven rapid transmission. Children are making up an increasing share of new cases, in part because vaccines are not yet allowed for anyone under age 12. But health authorities have said the Pfizer vaccine will be expanded to ages 5-11 soon.

Though health experts say children are still likely to be asymptomatic or experience only mild symptoms, more than 1,000 juveniles have been hospitalized for the disease statewide. About 40% of them have been in Hampton Roads.

As of Thursday, three children are known to have died of COVID-19 or its complications in the region. Schwanda Corprew, a Norfolk teen, died at home from complications of the virus in August.

Larry Hill, a health department spokesman, said he couldn’t provide any other details for privacy reasons. It’s also the reason why the agency has only released an age range, making the individual less identifiable.

The child wasn’t hospitalized at CHKD. A spokeswoman confirmed Thursday that Sperry has been the only COVID-19 patient to die at the hospital.

Elisha Sauers 757-839-4754, elisha.sauers@pilotonline.com