The 3-year-old boy allegedly contracted the Coronavirus while at the hospital for a different medical issue. His mom took him to the ER after he reportedly aspirated a small piece of an apple which triggered an asthma attack. The boy tested positive for COVID-19, rhinovirus and adenovirus in addition to pneumonia and bacterial infections in his lungs two days after being brought to the hospital.
The mother from Utah, Yvonne Francis, reportedly said his doctors don’t know if he caught the virus while in the hospital. She urged others to get vaccinated and protect themselves against COVID-19.
The mother took her 3-year-old son, Justin, to the ER after he aspirated a small piece of an apple which triggered an asthma attack.
Francis reportedly said: “They did a bronchoscope and saw that his lungs were just really full of secretions that he would have from like a virus or an infection. That’s when they re-ran the panels and found out that he was positive.”
Her son tested positive for COVID-19, rhinovirus and adenovirus in addition to pneumonia and bacterial infections in his lungs.
Francis said that Justin was then sedated and intubated in the intensive care unit.
Family members tested negative for COVID-19 and doctors told the mother it’s more likely he caught it after being admitted.
The mother also said: “They really don’t know, but they said, you know, if no one else in our household catches it, it’s more likely that he caught it with his hospitalization.”
Greg Bell with the Utah Hospital Association said that people shouldn’t be afraid to get emergency medical care at these facilities because of COVID-19.
Greg Bell reportedly said: “We take extreme precautions with cleanliness to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Hospitals are a very safe place, and people should go to the hospital when they need to.”
The mother also said that it doesn’t matter where her son contracted the Coronavirus, they hope his story reminds people to get vaccinated so hospitals aren’t overrun with COVID-19 patients and the virus itself.
Francis reportedly said: “Justin didn’t have any choice in getting sick or not. He’s part of the population that needed other people to get vaccinated to protect him. He couldn’t get the vaccine yet, and there was nothing else that we could have done to protect him. The rest of the family is fully vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, or if you are isolating, staying home, not exposing yourself, you probably won’t end up in an ER.”
Justin has begun to recover, although he’s still on a ventilator. Doctors are hoping to send him home this week with medication. This story will be updated as new information become available.