A Florida woman died from COVID-19 just days after giving birth to her daughter via emergency C-section, according to multiple reports.
Kristen McMullen, 30, was hospitalized July 21 with COVID-19 and pneumonia, her aunt Melissa Syverson told NBC News. She was sent home after four days, Syverson said, but hospitalized again July 26.
On July 27, McMullen’s daughter was born by emergency C-section — six days after the mother was first hospitalized, NBC News reported. After her daughter’s birth, McMullen was transferred to the intensive care unit, according to the network.
McMullen died Aug. 6, the same day she was placed on a ventilator, her family told NBC News.
Although the family is mourning the loss of McMullen, the baby is healthy and “definitely bringing joy,” NBC reported.
It was unclear whether McMullen had been vaccinated against COVID-19, but her family told NBC News that people generally need to be careful around pregnant women regardless of their vaccination status.
“We personally feel that whether a pregnant woman is or isn’t [vaccinated] or whether they wear a mask or don’t wear a mask, we feel like they’re at a huge risk potentially for it to be deadly for them or their baby,” McMullen’s aunt told the news outlet.
This week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta urged pregnant women to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to surge across the country. Only about 23% of pregnant women have received at least one dose of a vaccine, according to CDC data.
‘’The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people,’’ CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said in a statement, The Associated Press reported.
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