Much of the focus on coronavirus has been on the elderly who are at a higher risk of complications from the virus. But immunocompromised children are also at risk.

“I just can’t imagine losing our child at such a young age,” says mother Marielle Marinoff.

But this is what Marinoff says her fear is during the virus pandemic because her 5-year-old son Aiden has Hunter Syndrome – a genetic disease that leaves him vulnerable.

“This is such a scary time for us because Aiden is involved in a clinical trial and he is on immunosuppressants. So, he’s severely immunocompromised right now and we are terrified that if someone in our home or if someone were to come to our home and bring in coronavirus, he could end up dying,” she says.

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“Children with genetic diseases like Hunter Syndrome will be disproportionally impacted by any viral illness, including COVID-19,” says Dr. Matt McDonald.

McDonald is the vice president and chief medical officer at Children’s Specialized Hospital. He says that coronavirus mostly impacts adults, children like Aiden are also at risk.

“If you have unhealthy lungs or a respiratory disease at baseline, and then you add in a viral illness like COVID-19, your body will have less reserve to fight to keep the child out of the hospital, for example,” McDonald says.

Marinoff says that she is extremely vigilant wither family, not leaving her home for a month except to get groceries. She says that she wants to encourage others to continue to do the same, because her son’s life depends on it.

“Follow the social distancing guidelines. They are put in place to save lives, they are put in place to save kids like my kid,” she says.