Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office changes ruling on toddler's COVID-19 death following 'inconclusive' autopsy

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office recently concluded that a 4-year-old child who tested positive for COVID-19 and died in early September did not die of the virus, according to a KHOU report.

Kali Cook, who died at her Bacliff home in early September after testing positive for COVID-19, was first considered to be Galveston County's first child fatality from the virus when county health officials claimed COVID-19 was the cause of death.

The authorities later withdrew their claims after the medical examiner's office stated that they were still awaiting autopsy results.

On Nov. 19, medical examiner Erin Barnhart announced that the autopsy was complete and the cause of death for Kali remained "undetermined."

"She still had COVID-19 – that's true and correct. However, there was no evidence that her body was not able to function normally," Barnhart said. "So, for example, she didn't have pneumonia, there wasn't any lung damage, there wasn't any inflammation in the heart. So, because of that  – that makes a diagnosis of a COVID-19-related death inappropriate in this case."

According to a Houston Daily report, the Galveston County Local Health Authority stated that child deaths from COVID were unsurprising given the delta variant's accelerated spread.

“Now we’re seeing our largest group of people with COVID is children under 10,” said Dr. Philip Keiser, Galveston County Local Health Authority. “So the fact that we’re getting more and more children under 10 getting COVID, it shouldn’t be surprising that some of them are getting sick. Some of them are getting in the hospital and some dying.”

Kali died suddenly on Sept. 7 after catching a fever the night before. Her mother, Karra Harwood, has vowed to do everything possible to preserve her daughter's memory.

“She was so funny and sassy,” Kali's mother, Karra Harwood told the Daily News in September. “She wasn’t your average little girl. She’d rather play with worms and frogs than wear bows. She was just so pretty and full of life."

Additionally, the Galveston County District Attorney's Office has ruled out any possibility of foul play.