A five-year-old boy in the United States has died from complications caused by the coronavirus as the Delta variant continues to spread across the country. Five-year-old Wyatt Gibson’s family is shattered after his death from COVID-19 in the US – where many adults still refuse to get vaccinated. Wyatt Gibson, from Georgia, was healthy and had no underlying conditions when he contracted covid. His family initially thought he had food poisoning. “A day, two. No appetite, a little vomiting, a bit lazy,” Wyatt’s grandmother, Andrea Mitchell, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement released through his godmother, Amanda Summey.
“He’d barely had more than a sniffle or two as prior illnesses go. Then the white tongue.” Alarmed, the family took him to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and strep and staph infections. “We’d been so careful this whole time for it to find us now?” said Ms. Mitchell. “He was fighting for his very life. His mother, up for four days, never left between persuading him to keep moving, fighting, and begging him to stay. “His father, the backbone of the family, coughing from COVID now himself, stood beside him in silent worry, beyond believing what he was seeing. “Then it ended. On July 16, 2021, at 12:05 pm, Wyatt died. A massive stroke struck the soul of his brain.” He leaves behind his parents, Wes and Alexa, and a nine-month-old sister, Alyssa.
Wyatt’s father, a Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department deputy, paid tribute to his son on Facebook. “My little buddy. My best friend. My helper,” Mr. Gibson said. “Wyatt was nothing but joy and happiness. We loved having fun and going on adventures together. He loved his mother and sister very much and always sought ways to help. “He loved to build things. Big things! And then he loved showing them to Alexis and me. “He loved to play outside, help in the yard, and help with the horses. He loved the horses and the dogs. He was full of love and brightened everyone’s world. Wyatt would wave to strangers in the grocery store because he knew it made their day.
“In a way, I know that you’re still here, but I miss you so damn much. “I have lost my best friend.” Wyatt’s mother spoke briefly to the Journal-Constitution, saying he “brought love and joy” to everyone he met. “There are no words,” Mrs. Gibson added on Facebook. “Wyatt was nothing but pure love and the perfect overload of happiness. Bitty Wy, we see you everywhere we look, and I still feel you holding my hand.” The local community has rallied around the family. A GoFundMe page set up by Ms. Summy has raised $US36,000, with a goal of $50,000, to help the Gibsons with their medical bills and funeral costs.
Ms. Summy described Wyatt’s death as “the worst nightmare of any parent”. “May your sweet little angel rest in heavenly peace,” said one of the donors, Krystal Ramirez. “I have a six-year-old who is just like your son was, so happy and full of life with long hair and a heart bigger than the universe itself. I am so sorry for your loss.” I” m so sorry for your loss. Sometimes, the angels visit for such a short time to remind us how to be,” said Peter Allar. Mr. Gibson thanked people for their support in another Facebook post. “Thank you all so much. To everyone that has reached out, helped out, sent food, sent prayers, donated, and so many other things. Thank you,” he said.
“We cannot begin to explain nor describe how much we appreciate everything. Thank you so much for being here for us in many different ways.” The highly infectious Delta variant is now the dominant strain of COVID-19 in the US. Earlier this week, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, said it accounted for 83 percent of new infections. Meanwhile, cases have tripled in all 50 states in the past month. On June 21, the US was averaging 12,000 infections per day. That figure is now 38,000. Hospitalizations have also spiked.
Of the people in the hospital with covid, about 97 percent are unvaccinated. And among those who have died recently, 99.5 percent were unvaccinated. The US vaccine rollout has slowed considerably after a fast start in the year’s first half. A little under half the population is fully vaccinated, while two-thirds have received at least one shot. The government struggles to convince the remaining third of Americans to get the vaccines. Public polling has consistently shown about 30 percent of the country does not intend to be vaccinated. “This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Dr. Walensky said during a public health briefing on the day Wyatt died.
