Coronavirus Claims Life Of 5-Year-Old Whitfield County Boy

GEORGIA — The 5-year-old son of a Whitfield County Sheriff’s deputy has died of complications from COVID-19, according to multiple reports.

Wyatt Gary Gibson, who passed away Friday in a Chattanooga hospital, is one of the youngest Georgians to have been claimed by the contagious disease caused by the coronavirus. He’s the son of Lt. Wes Gibson of the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department and his wife Alexis.

Everyone in the family caught COVID, according to family members as reported by WSB-TV in Atlanta, but only Wyatt got sick enough to be hospitalized. He is reported to have had no underlying conditions that might have compromised his health.

Children dying of COVID-19 is rare but not impossible. Only three Georgians under age 10 have died so far of COVID, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health, a 1-year-old Cobb County boy being the youngest. Overall, more than 18,600 Georgians have died of COVID-19.

In the United States, where no vaccine is authorized for children 12 and under, only 335 victims 17 or younger have died of COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Tuesday, nearly 609,500 Americans have died of COVID-19.

Although children cannot be vaccinated, adults can and should in order to protect themselves and those around them, Dr. Jane Wilkov of the DeKalb Pediatric Center said to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A family friend has set up an online fundraiser to help with funeral expenses. Arrangements are being handled by Ponders Melrose Chapel in Dalton.

The Gibson family lives in a district represented by outspoken U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who was temporarily suspended from Twitter Monday for posting COVID-19 misinformation. One of Green's posts claimed that the disease “is not dangerous for non-obese people and those under 65.”

Read the story in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.