Eighth grader dies of COVID-19
Oklahoma City boy remembered as a ‘ beautiful soul’
An Oklahoma City boy who was set to begin eighth grade this year died of COVID-19 complications last week, school officials confirmed. Clarence Wayne Johnson III, was 13 when he died Aug. 19, Oklahoma City Public Schools’ Native American Student Services department said in a Facebook post.
The department said many teachers and staff loved Clarence, who was Comanche and Kiowa, for his “beautiful soul and unforgettable smile.”
“OKCPS is saddened to learn of the passing of Clarence Johnson, III, who was enrolled to begin 8th grade at Mary Golda Ross Middle School after attending Roosevelt Middle School last year,” the school district said in a statement Thursday. “Crisis counseling is available to students and staff. We will keep his family and friends in our thoughts during this very difficult time.”
The teen’s death comes as the delta variant has taken an increasing toll on younger people. Even so,
“Sadly, this is where I think we were all hoping we would not be. This is not like last year. It might feel like deja vu, but the delta variant is so much more contagious, and we just need to take it very, very seriously.”
State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister
COVID-19 deaths among school-age youth in Oklahoma have been relatively rare.
The latest data from the state health department shows Oklahoma has recorded three COVID-19 deaths in children ages 12 to 17 since the start of the pandemic.
It’s unclear if Clarence’s death is included in those totals.
Clarence, known as Tre, is remembered as a “happy boy” who planned to play football this season.
His parents have started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to assist with funeral expenses. The family had raised $5,300 as of early Thursday afternoon.
“He had a strong love of all kinds of music, food, video games, animals & social media, and of course his family & friends,” his parents wrote in a GoFundMe message. “Tre was taken from us way too soon, but he’s home now.”
State schools Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said schools must remain vigilant while the delta variant is “surging throughout communities.”
There are 640,000 Oklahoma schoolchildren who are unvaccinated, either because they are too young to access a vaccine or because they haven’t yet received a dose, Hofmeister said during an Oklahoma State Board of Education meeting Thursday.
“Sadly, this is where I think we were all hoping we would not be,” she said. “This is not like last year. It might feel like deja vu, but the delta variant is so much more contagious, and we just need to take it very, very seriously.”
As of Thursday, 9,044 Oklahomans have died as a result of COVID-19, according to the provisional death toll from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The CDC’s count is based on death certificates. It is about 1,200 higher than the state’s investigated COVID-19 death toll.
Health experts have said COVID-19 is still a risk to children, though adults tend to be more severely affected by the disease.
Oklahoma had a three-day average of 64 pediatric hospitalizations for COVID-19 as of Thursday — one of the highest totals since the state began reporting pediatric COVID hospitalizations.
Last week, children under 18 made up over a fifth of the state’s new COVID-19 cases and 3.8% of hospitalizations, according to data from the state health department.