1-year-old girl dies from COVID-19 a day after being checked into hospital

HAMILTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVC) — A one-year-old girl has died from COVID-19 complications this week in Hamilton County. Now, doctors and state coalitions are reacting to the news.

The Medical Examiner’s Office say her name is Norma Domingo-Ramirez -- a Hispanic girl with no underlying conditions. You can see her in the photos posted above on a GoFundMe page created to help the family with funeral expenses and other financial support.

Earlier this week, the Hamilton County Health Department said Norma is the second child in the county– 10 years of age or younger – who has died from the virus in the county.

County officials say Norma’s family checked her into the Children's Hospital at Erlanger on Father’s Day. The disease took her life a day later.

A Baylor School researcher familiar with COVID-19 told NewsChannel 9 that this shows the virus affects so many people, differently.

"When it comes to percentages, statistically speaking, children don’t seem to be as impacted by COVID-19 -- however a lot of that data was originally from a smaller proportion of the population," said Dr. Elizabeth Forrester, a Baylor School scientist.

The Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition says this is yet another example showing that the Hispanic community and its youth are underserved. The coalition says state and local governments need to respond by limiting barriers in that community, which stop them from getting what they need.

According to the Health Department's website, at least 60 percent of Hamilton County’s positive tests right now come from within the Latinx population.