A 5-year-old boy died from COVID-19 in Georgia, the toddler’s death one of many lives cut short by the virus in recent weeks. “He was perfect. He was absolutely perfect,” his godmother said as her voice cracked.
5-year-old boy dies of COVID-19 in Georgia as cases rise nationwide
Wyatt Gibson loved superheroes so much that he always wore a cape. Wyatt, 5, loved horses, dogs, trees, flowers and really anything else that kept him outdoors.
Wyatt’s was one of many lives cut short by COVID-19 in recent weeks as the number of cases has risen across the country, driven in large part by the spread of the highly contagious delta variant.
Now, a northwest Georgia family is mourning the loss of the child who “brought joy to everything,” according to his godmother.
“He loved everybody. I mean, he never met a stranger,” Amanda Summey, Wyatt’s godmother, said through tears. “He was perfect. He was absolutely perfect,” she said as her voice cracked.
Wyatt died in his mother’s arms Friday at a children’s hospital after becoming critically ill from the coronavirus and suffering a stroke, according to Summey and a statement from Andrea Mitchell, Wyatt’s maternal grandmother.
Wyatt had “his whole life ahead of him” to become whoever he wanted to be, Mitchell said. “Everything he could have brought to this world is gone now,” he said.
The delta variant now accounts for more than 83% of COVID-19 cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Tuesday.
Doctors warn that unvaccinated populations, including young children, are among the most vulnerable.
The COVID-19 vaccines have been licensed for emergency use only for people 12 years and older in the U.S.
Mitchell and Summey described Wyatt as a healthy child before he became ill from the coronavirus. “He had had some cold but the virus got hold of him and took him,” he added.
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