South Central Reporter

Christian County Coroner Amy Winans has publicly attributed the death of 17-year-old Taylorville resident Alexia Garrison to Covid-19. 

But she isn't yet elaborating on how she came to that conclusion.

Winans refused a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request by the South Central Reporter for a copy of Garrison's death certificate and the preliminary autopsy report that, she said, served as the basis for announcing Covid-19 as the cause.

Two weeks after her death, Garrison’s cause of death still remains unofficial. 

“Alexia Garrison’s death is still under investigation,” Winans told the South Central Reporter. “Since this is an ongoing investigation I am waiting on police reports, medical records, toxicology, and the final autopsy report. I would expect this to be available between 60-90 days.”

A source familiar with death investigations in the region said that blaming Covid-19 for Garrison's death at this early juncture would be "pure extrapolation" by a coroner. 

A press release from Winans’ office said Garrison was ill with Covid-19 when she was found unresponsive at her home on Sept. 15. She was pronounced dead 45 minutes later at the emergency room in Taylorville Memorial Hospital. 

Garrison’s funeral was held Sept. 20.

“Preliminary autopsy results indicate that she died due to natural causes with covid-19 being a contributing factor,” Winans said in the press release.

The case has been politicized, receiving considerable media attention in the days since Garrison’s death, due to the public announcement by Winans that it was Covid-related.

Parents have taken to social media platforms crying for improved protections for their children; some have even reported taking kids out of school.

American Journal of Pediatrics (AAP) reports show Covid-19 is one of the rarest causes of death for children aged 12-17.

“Among states reporting, children were 0.00%-0.25% of all COVID-19 deaths, and seven states reported zero child deaths. In states reporting, 0.00%-0.03 of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death,” AAP reported.

In the group’s latest round up of 24,451 total deaths in Illinois, only 25 were allegedly of children.