On Tuesday, Denton County Public Health reported that a boy under 19 years old from Lewisville has died as a result of COVID-19.
The boy is the youngest Denton County resident to die of the novel coronavirus and the county’s only pediatric COVID-19 death, according to DCPH data. To protect patients’ privacy, DCPH does not release additional information about specific cases, such as the victim’s specific age or whether they were immunocompromised or vaccinated.
DCPH only rules a resident’s death as a COVID-19 death if it is determined that the person died as a direct result of COVID-19. Actual dates of death can be released several days to several months after the date of death, due to various reporting agencies and medical records review. COVID-19 deaths are a “lagging indicator,” because it usually takes a couple weeks to a couple months for DCPH to confirm a resident’s death as being the result of COVID-19. The deaths reported in the past few weeks reflect patients who had the Omicron variant during the huge spike in cases this winter.
The Lewisville boy’s death was one of five COVID-related deaths reported by DCPH on Tuesday, including a Lewisville man in his 40s, a Denton woman in her 60s, a Carrollton man in his 60s and a Corinth man in his 70s. The countywide COVID-19 death toll is now 816.
“As we announce the death of five community members due to COVID-19, please keep their families in your thoughts and prayers,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “We hope community members will get vaccinated, as vaccination remains the best way to reduce the risk of COVID-19 hospitalization and death.”
According to DCPH data, the Lewisville boy is the first Denton County resident under the age of 30 to die of COVID-19. Most of the COVID-related deaths in the county have been people who were 70 and older, and the county’s first pediatric COVID-19 death shows that “the Omicron wave is still deadly,” said DCPH Director Dr. Matt Richardson.
“It’s still deadly and even in young people, COVID can still be fatal,” Richardson said.
Without commenting on this specific case, Richardson pointed to DCPH data showing that the overwhelming majority of Denton County residents who have died of COVID-19 since February 2021 (the earliest that local residents could be considered fully vaccinated) were not vaccinated.
“This passing shows that prevention is still important,” Richardson said, urging residents to stay up-to-date on their vaccinations and/or booster shots. “This approach to being vaccinated is important, not just for you, but for others.”
Click here for more information about COVID-19 vaccines in Denton County. For additional COVID-19 data including active case information by municipality, hospital capacity, and ventilator utilization, visit dentoncounty.gov/COVIDstats.
For information regarding DCPH’s upcoming testing centers, visit dentoncounty.gov/COVID19testing.
