With her round cheeks, Summer Reign McMullen was born a healthy baby on July 27. Her 30-year-old mother, Kristen, smiled at the pink bundle cradled in her tattooed arms. That was the last time she would hold her daughter. Two pictures and a couple of minutes later, she was taken to the ICU, where she died more than a week later from covid-19 in a hospital in Brevard County, Fla. Summer will never know her mother's "bubbly and vivacious" personality, said McMullen's aunt, Melissa Syverson. She will not meet the "active and full-of-life" young woman who grew up dancing, horseback riding and playing the piano in her native Virginia. Yet Syverson said she is determined to not let her niece's memories perish: she's sharing her story in the hope that people – especially pregnant women – take safety measures during the pandemic. "We want to make sure that everybody, pregnant women and also people that know pregnant women take extra precautions," said Syverson, who declined to discuss McMullen's vaccination status. The loss of a youthful mother who, according to Syverson, was otherwise healthy comes as more young people are being infected and hospitalized with covid-19. Some doctors are also warning of an uptick of severe cases among pregnant women – a group with a low vaccination rate that has also been found to be subject to a high risk for complications related to the virus. Amid the delta variant's spread, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has moved to encourage expectant mothers to get vaccinated, as research shows they are more likely to require admission to intensive care and use of ventilators than non-pregnant women. Syverson said her niece decided to move to Florida from Virginia out of a whim in 2017, where she would soon meet Keith McMullen. "They met and they were literally inseparable immediately," Syverson said. A year later, they got married. He wore his U.S. Army uniform while McMullen carried a bouquet of red, white and blue flowers that matched her crimson lipstick. According to Syverson, the two dreamed of starting a family. Even while pregnant, McMullen exerted herself at her job as hotel general manager, Syverson said. At the same time, she fussed over the prospect of being a mother, making sure her baby had a pair of pink onesies before she came into the world. Elation morphed into fear only three weeks before her due date.